


When Traces of Gray Remain

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: M/M, Romance, other pairing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 01:32:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/792488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world of light and shadows, you still have to deal with the gray areas in between.<br/>This story is a sequel to When Shadows Pass.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Traces of Gray Remain

**Author's Note:**

> Another story that really wouldn't leave me alone (and the usual crew of suspects thwarted my attempts to resist  ). It is the sequel to "When Shadows Pass" and will make much more sense if you've read that and its predecessor "When Daylight Comes" so that you'll understand the sequence of events, and be familiar with the original faces that appear. Those two stories can be found either at my site or at the archive. 
> 
> So, for important developments between Jim/Blair, further progression with Griff/Nico, and even a peek or two at Simon/Giselle...read on. Hope you enjoy, and comments, of course, are welcome. 
> 
> Additional note: This series began somewhere in the midst of third season, so in this story certain issues are handled a bit differently than in later eps.

## When Traces of Gray Remain

by JC

Author's webpage: <http://www.skeeter63.org/jayci/>

Author's disclaimer: The characters from the TV series "The Sentinel" are not my property, and I am not making money off of them. That's it.

* * *

When Traces of Gray Remain by J.C. 

It wasn't how Griffin Paris had planned it. There had been thoughts of a leisurely meal, quiet conversation to catch up on things, lingering kisses on the couch, and a long lovemaking session in bed. 

But, as soon as he had seen Nick Alvarez standing outside his door, smiling that much-loved smile, the knowledge that the weeks of separation were finally over rushed up to meet him, hardening him inside his sweatpants where he hung freely without the restriction of underwear. His own smile broke out and he reached, pulled, and had Nick inside behind closed and locked doors, giving him a hungry kiss, before they even spoke a word in greeting. 

A bulging duffel bag was still over Nick's shoulder, and the weight of it bumped heavily against Griff's hip as they explored with eager lips and tongue. Nick held on tightly while Griff, undeterred by Nick's still-buttoned coat, found the places he wanted with his hands. Hard and soft places that made Nick moan and tremble. 

The faint scent of outdoor air clung to Nick's hair and skin, and Griff breathed it in, licked it off. It had been so long, his body cried. Only a few weeks, his mind sneered in answer. Still, he couldn't seem to help himself. There was a special meal waiting in the kitchen, but he dismissed the thought of it. Plans of sweet seduction vanished with one glimpse, one taste. Only the memory of the bottle of champagne left chilling by the bed gave him pause, the thought of chasing cold, fizzy drops between the cheeks of Nick's ass almost as appealing as the idea of making him come inside his pants right there against the door. 

"Griffin...Griffin...wait...I'm gonna..." 

Griff halted that stuttering string of words with his mouth, reducing them to grunts that vibrated against his lips. Almost there, he thought. Just a few more pushes with his hips, a few more pumps with his hand, and then they were both coming, wet spots spreading on the front of their clothes. 

With a final nip to the side of Nick's neck, Griff pulled away at last, belatedly removing the bag from Nick's shoulder, dropping it to the floor with a heavy thud. 

"What was _that_ about?" Nick gasped. He was flushed and sweaty, leaning back against the door, lips swollen, reddened places on his chin and cheek from the soft scraping of Griff's mustache and goatee. 

Griff watched him, thinking 'so damned sexy...' as he tried to get his own breathing back under control. "Sorry," he finally managed, "I guess I just missed you." 

Nick smiled indulgently, still looking half-dazed. "Good thing I needed to do laundry anyway." 

Griff kissed him, making it just a brief touch of his lips, smoothing back damp strands of hair off of Nick's face, whispering in his ear. "Take your coat off, Nico. I've got food." Loving the grin that he got in answer. 

Nick shrugged off his coat, handed it to Griff, then rifled through his bag until he pulled out some old sweatpants. He turned, watching as Griff headed to the kitchen. 

"Hey," he called out, grinning sexily as Griff faced him. "I missed you, too." Unfastening his pants, then lowering his zipper to reveal dark cotton that clung wetly to his softened cock. "Want to come help me clean up and change?" 

Griff's eyes flashed hotly, and he actually took a small step forward before he caught himself. "No, I better not. Not if we plan on eating all of the food that I fixed." 

"Are you saying that you're so vulnerable to my animal magnetism that you can't even take a quick trip to the bathroom with me?" 

"Damn straight." 

Nick laughed. "Pitiful. Okay, then I'll be right back," he said, moving towards the hall bathroom. 

For a few seconds, Griff watched the closed door, on the verge of changing his mind, then shook his head and went into the kitchen to reheat dinner. 

* * *

Nick came out wearing gray sweatpants that were old and faded, carrying the pants and boots, socks and underwear that he had taken off, which he dropped in a pile on the floor near his bag to take care of later. Griff was working in the kitchen, and Nick noticed that he, too, had executed a quick change, also opting for gray sweatpants. His attention was drawn to Griff's handsome profile, the strong features, beautiful copper-toned skin, short wavy hair, and the play of muscles as Griff moved around, tight tee-shirt stretching enticingly over chest and back and arms, the firm ass hugged by thick, soft cotton. 

"Need some help?" he called out, starting on the layers he had had on under his coat, grabbing at the hem of an old navy blue sweatshirt that had been washed so many times that the slogan on the front was no longer decipherable. 

Griff turned, watching as the sweatshirt was removed and the flannel shirt underneath was unbuttoned. "No. I've got it handled." When Nick dropped the shirt revealing a long sleeve tee-shirt, Griff asked, "What's up with you?" 

"Nothing, why?" Nick replied, stripping off the shirt and dropping it on top of the rest of his clothes. 

"I've never seen you wearing so much stuff at one time before. Not that I don't appreciate the striptease." 

"Heat died in my car again, and the temperatures coming out here were frigid." 

"I told you to get rid of that thing." 

"Yeah, well, someday..." Nick said, walking over to Griff. "In the meantime, I'll get my friend Chris to take another look at it for me." 

"Nico, you can't keep--" 

"Griffin, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." 

Nick could see Griff struggle with whether or not to say anything more. 

"Let's eat." Griff sighed, picking up two covered bowls. 

Pleased that the matter was dropped, Nick took the rest of the food and followed Griff to the dining room table. 

* * *

The meal did turn out to be leisurely, and they did indeed have quiet conversation where they caught up on things. How Nick's mother was doing, and how she, thankfully, still showed no signs of the cancer returning. How the weather in Texas had been, the drive out and back, friends he'd been able to see. How much writing they both had or hadn't gotten done. Griff's arrangements to close up his house in Atlanta since his mother refused to sell her old house and move into it, getting some of the furniture moved into the condo. Griff's visit with his mother and his friends, how his flights had been. How Giselle had decided not to go home for the holidays, instead spending the time packing up for her move to Cascade. 

"I should have flown to Houston and spent New Year's with you," Griff said finally. 

With a shrug, Nick replied, "I went to Mass with my family, anyway. Plus, you took your mother to church." 

"Still, it was our first New Year's." 

"It was one day, and we have a lot of days ahead to be together. In fact, two uninterrupted weeks right now." 

"But, if you moved in..." 

"Has anybody ever told you how persistent you are?" 

With a half-shrug and an easy grin, Griff answered, "My mom calls it being 'hard-headed'." 

Tapping lightly on Griff's head with his knuckles, Nick said, "I have to agree," adding, "and no, I'm not moving in here yet." His hand turned, stroking over Griff's hair, caressing the side of Griff's face. "Does your sister even know about me?" 

A surprised look crossed Griff's face. "I told her about you long ago." 

"That you're seeing somebody, or about me personally and everything?" 

"I told her all about you. My mother, too, when I was home. You?" 

"What?" 

"You know what I mean. Did you tell your mother about me?" 

"I didn't tell anybody that I was seeing you, specifically. You're kind of a known name, and it seemed like it would be putting your business in the streets. Besides, who'd believe me anyway?" He flashed Griff a playful grin. "The fabulously famous and outrageously good-looking Griffin Paris with plain old me?" 

"I feel lucky to be with you, and you're hardly plain or old," Griff said, pulling Nick closer, chair and all. "And I don't mind if you tell people. Especially your family." 

"I don't take my private life home to the family." 

Griff's eyes grew serious, especially when Nick didn't meet his gaze. "Why not? I thought they know that you're gay?" 

"They do, and I have friends back in Houston that I can tell anything to, but I prefer not to bring up my personal affairs in my mother's house or with anybody in the old neighborhood." 

Griff wanted to question him more, but he knew from experience that every man had to come to his own terms, so he let it go. "Okay. But I don't mind if you tell people that the 'wonderful man' that you're seeing is me." He smiled, hoping to lighten the mood again. 

"Don't put words in my mouth," Nick laughed. "I'm sure that I never described you as 'wonderful'." 

"But the point is that you can...to anybody that you choose." He raised an eyebrow, giving Nick a questioning stare. "You're not planning on publishing an expos of our exploits, are you?" 

"Do I need to remind you exactly _who_ was writing _what_ about _who_?" Nick said, laughing some more at the quick look of embarrassment on Griff's face. 

"I think this is a good time to move on," Griff said, getting up, collecting the dirty dishes. "Plus," he added, "I have something for you." 

"If it's anything like what you gave me when I first got here, I think I've replenished my nutrients enough to be able to withstand it." Nick took up the empty glasses, following Griff to the kitchen. 

"Actually, it's better." 

"Better than that?" Nick asked, mocking leer on his face. "Maybe I'm not ready after all." 

Griff pulled Nick in for a quick kiss and grope and squeeze. "Well, maybe not 'better'. But I think you'll like it. Go sit on the couch." 

"Yes sir!" Nick said, taking a quick kiss, grope, and squeeze of his own before going off to wait in the designated spot. 

A few minutes later, Griff appeared with a big wrapped box. 

"Merry Christmas. Sorry, that I didn't get it to you before the holidays." 

"Okay, what have you done?" 

"It's just a gift. Open it." 

Slowly, Nick pulled the paper off, slowing down even more when the words and graphics on the box were revealed. 

"Griffin, what is this?" 

"If I really have to answer that, you're going to have a hard time using it." 

"Don't joke. It's a _laptop_. That's too much." 

"You could use one." 

"And when I can afford one, I'll get one." 

" _I_ can afford it...and it's a _gift_." 

"We've been over this stuff before." 

"It's just money. I take care of my family, I give to charity...I spend it the way I like." 

"You don't need to take care of _me_ , and I'm not a charity." Nick was speaking very quietly, but his face was set in a hard expression. 

"That's not what I meant, Nico." Griff sat next to Nick on the couch, removing the rest of the wrapping paper from the computer box. "It's something that you can use and I have the money. I want you to have it, okay?" 

After a lengthy silence, Nick's face softened, his voice more like normal. "Okay. Thanks. I'm sure it'll come in handy. But now my gift to you makes me look like a cheapskate." 

Nick got up, went to the hall closet, and pulled a package from his coat. When he was back at the couch, he handed it to Griff, who opened it, revealing three CDs, music that represented Griff's wide range of tastes. And on a square of textured paper, in Nick's smooth, neat handwriting, was a poem, which Griff read after stealing a glance at his lover. 

"Oh man, Nico, you wrote this for me?" 

"I don't write much poetry anymore, but that wouldn't leave me alone, so I finally gave in." 

"Now _I_ feel like a cheapskate. Thank you." 

"It's nothing." 

"No. It's _something_. _You're_ something." At that, he enveloped Nick in a strong embrace. 

"Merry Christmas." 

"Ready to celebrate New Year's?" 

"That depends. What did you have in mind?" 

"Come in the bedroom and find out." 

"Griffin, I swear, if there's something new and expensive in there for me, I'm going home." 

Slowly rising from the couch, Griff stood in front of Nick, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it in Nick's direction. Nick stared at the finely muscled torso, stomach flat and tight, dick outlined in soft, gray material. Griff was tall and brown and gorgeous, and Nick loved him. And lusted for him, Nick added to himself, as Griff reached down and removed his pants, cock springing impressively free, large and heavy and pointing straight at Nick. 

Tall, brown, gorgeous, and naked. 

"Don't worry, Nico." Griff smiled seductively. "It'll just be you and me and a bottle of champagne, subject to our creative imaginations." 

Nick returned the sexy smile. "Happy fucking New Year." 

"See, there's that creativity kicking in already." Griff reached out, pulling Nick up from the couch, guiding one of Nick's hands between his legs to cup his balls. 

Nick breathed a stream of soft words in Spanish across Griff's chest, of which Griff only understood 'Happy New Year to me', but which made his dick twitch nonetheless. 

Mere seconds later, Griff had them both naked and in bed. 

* * *

Nick sighed, feeling sticky, sweaty, and satisfied, as he watched Griff doze. He shifted closer, grimaced as something hard poked him in the back, reached and grinned, soft laughter escaping him as he dropped the empty champagne bottle to the floor by the bed. With one finger, he traced a line along the warm skin of Griff's cheek, moving lower to the softly rough hair-covered chin, up to the slightly parted full lips. Hissing with pleasure as his finger was suddenly sucked in, nibbled and licked. He pulled it free, replaced it with his tongue. 

"I thought you were asleep," he said when the kiss ended. 

"I thought you were trying to wake me up," Griff replied. 

"No, just looking...thinking." 

Griff opened his eyes, turning on his side in Nick's direction. "About what?" 

"That I really do love you. And that you throw a hell of a New Year's party." 

Teasing a trail down Nick's bare arm with his fingers, Griff asked, "Surprised?" 

"About loving you or about all of the things you can think up to do with a bottle of champagne?" 

"Either. Both." 

"I've been in love before," Nick began, "but I don't think I have ever fallen this fast before." 

Griff fell over onto his back. "Does that bother you?" 

"Not really. It doesn't feel forced or anything...just...fast. I was worried at first that it might be some sort of starry-eyed reaction to a public figure." 

"I'm not a public figure," Griff ground out, "not _just_ a public figure." 

"You're a best-selling author and I'm still an aspiring writer. Not to mention that you're sexy as hell." 

"So, you're saying that this is just some sort of celebrity crush that you have going on here?" 

"No," Nick explained, "I'm saying that it's _not_. I'm really in love with you, and I'm surprised at how fast it happened." 

"I have a tendency to fall fast and hard," Griff said after a while. 

"Like with Jim?" 

'And Kim, my high school sweetheart, and Yolanda, the woman I almost married, Kevin, the first man to capture both my heart and my dick,' Griff thought. "Like with you," he finally said, answering the question the best way he knew how, pulling Nick to lie on top of him, and kissing him hard. 

"Okay," Nick smirked, looking down into Griff's face. "You don't want to talk about Jim." 

"Jim and I are good friends, and I'm glad about that, because it could easily have turned out differently. But that's all." 

"Fine. I don't want to know the intimate details about you and your 'friend' anyway." 

Griff rolled Nick off of him, sitting up on the edge of the bed, grabbing for the robe that was draped over a nearby chair. 

"Hey," Nick said, "I didn't mean anything by that. I'm fine with you and Jim." 

"It's not that. I need to tell you about something else." He threw a quick look at Nick over his shoulder. "My new book." 

"Right...something that happened that you want to work through in your writing." 

Griff nodded, hunching over a little, elbows on his knees as he stared unseeing at his feet. "Do you remember the news reports before the holidays about the basketball star arrested for drug possession? Caught with a date-rape drug? And the women who came forward and claimed that they had been his victims?" 

"Yeah, one of the Mavs." 

"Right. Well, it happened to me, too." 

" _What_ happened to you? Somebody drugged you and raped you?" Nick's voice was strained and quiet. 

"Not 'somebody'. _That_ somebody. I used to go out with him. It had been over for months, but I still hung out with him whenever we happened to be in Dallas at the same time. We were supposed to be friends. But...um...a few months ago, I was at his house and he spiked my drink. When I passed out, he fucked me, then got up the next morning and went on about his business. It was the whole reason that I was out here, up at the lake house working this fall. Getting away from it...getting used to...it." 

Nick rubbed soothing circles on Griff's back, warming the cool silk of Griff's robe. "How are you now?" he finally asked. 

"Fine, I think. It was just...I want to write about it." 

"Okay. Can I ask you a question?" 

Griff nodded. 

"This isn't...what we have, it isn't..." 

"No, Nico, no. Nothing to do with that. I promise," not bringing up that he had had the same concerns not that long ago. 

"Lie back down with me." 

Griff got back in bed, hugging his robe closed, and Nick held him, not speaking, just breathing, stroking, staying close. 

Over the past weeks, as he prepared to begin the new book, Griff realized that he still had issues when it came to the 'Dallas incident' as he'd termed it. The whole concept of raping a date, a friend, a lover, an ex. It was totally outside his realm of thinking, despite his understanding that rape is about power. He'd had his share of casual sex and brief encounters, and he'd never resorted to using his looks, his money, or his fame to get men or women in bed. Couldn't imagine using drugs and force. And he still had trouble facing that it had happened to him. He had been dreading Nick's reaction, unsure what to expect. The quiet concern and the peaceful shelter of Nick's arms were better than he had hoped for. 

After a minute, he slipped his robe off, fit himself more snugly against Nick's body, and waited, contentedly, for sleep to take them both. 

* * *

"They're just friends." 

Nick started a little at the voice and the dip of the loveseat cushion as someone sat next to him, then turned, looking into Giselle Paris' warm, brown eyes. Automatically, he smiled, a reaction that Giselle always seemed to elicit from him with her easy, friendly way. 

"I missed that, what did you say?" 

"Jim and Griffin. You've gone quiet and you're staring. You don't have to worry...they're just friends." 

Nick studied the two in question, wondering what they were deep in conversation about. They didn't seem to have a lot in common, despite the fact that they worked out together a few times a week, but whenever they were together, you could see the underlying attachment. He and Blair had once spent an entire afternoon discussing it as only two anthropologists might. 

"I know," he answered. "That's not..." Nick gave Giselle an embarrassed grin. "I have a confession. I'm writing. In my head. I've been trying to rework part of my Masters manuscript, and a few ideas just came to me. I promised myself not to work tonight, but I've been running the ideas over in my mind, hoping that they'd stick with me." 

Giselle laughed knowingly. "I've done that before with my work. I think I've perfected the art of imprinting an image in my brain. Imagine, some people think it's rude when you suddenly cease all conversation and start scribbling on any available piece of paper," she said, causing them both to laugh. "But why don't you just go work on it for a while? We're still waiting on Blair anyway." 

Nick considered it for a brief moment. After all, he did have his laptop with him. But they were all supposed to be taking the night off. Giselle had been in town for a few weeks already, and it was the first time that everyone had been able to arrange to be around at the same time. 

The new term meant busy days _and_ nights for him. He hadn't gotten the Teaching Assistantship, but he had taken on some private tutoring sessions. Between that and his seminar and his writing, plus helping Griff with the new book, time was at a premium. There had been a major murder case which had turned into a major drug case which had led to a major political corruption case that had kept Jim _very_ busy. Which meant that Blair was busy as well, doing his usual juggling act with police work and his workload from the university. Griff was immersed in writing, working on _two_ books. He had found that he couldn't put off finishing the book he had started...his final obligation to his old publishers, but the new book didn't seem to want to be put aside...and he was constantly working on it whenever he could. Giselle had moved in, and immediately gotten busy herself, jumping straight into her art project at the university. 

"No, that's okay," he finally said. "Griff has been looking forward to this ever since you got into town. I don't want to spoil it by stealing off to do work." 

"I should probably warn you that I have a tendency to not mind my own business sometimes, though I will promise that I won't lurk around in the hallway listening outside the bedroom door." She laughed again at the look that crossed Nick's face. "I said that I _wouldn't_ listen," she sniggered. "And I want you to know that I like the way you are with my brother, and the way he is with you." 

"He's...he's...a good man. _We're_ good, I think." 

Nick watched her as she nodded in agreement. He liked the way that _she_ was with Griff. The natural rapport between them. Love and concern, fun and friendship. Something that he had never had with his own brothers, especially once his homosexuality was out in the open. And he liked the fact that Giselle treated him with the same sort of affection. He didn't have any sisters; it was a nice feeling. 

"I think you're a good man, too," Giselle told him, patting him tenderly on the leg. 

"Hey, hey! Get your own man." 

They both jumped to see Griff watching them, stern expression on his face, laughter in his eyes. 

"You're lucky that we have company, big brother. I have to be polite." 

"Don't let him off the hook on my account, Gigi," Jim joined in. 

"I'd advise you to quiet down. You're already on my shit list, _Jimmy_. Why don't you make yourself useful and see what happened to the missing Sandburg? See if he's on the way? And Griff...you get me a glass of wine." 

"She's ruthless tonight, Griff," Jim said, chuckling. 

"That's every night, man. You know, Gigi," he said, getting up to go to the kitchen, "you're not allowed to boss me around. It's the destiny of some other poor sucker to be the subject of your abuse." 

"Watch yourself. I have plenty of little known facts about you that I can share." 

"There's something to be said for you being on the other side of the country." 

The good-natured bantering was cut short by the insistent ringing of someone leaning on the doorbell. 

"Guess who?" Jim asked, rolling his eyes. 

Griff opened the door and let in Blair, who breezed in with a rush of apologies for being late, stopping to kiss Giselle on the cheek, and then clapping Nick on the shoulder. 

"What's up, man?" 

"Nothing much, _Dr._ Sandburg." 

"Shhh, don't jinx it. I'm _so_ close." 

"Okay, now that Sandburg's finally here, let's eat," Jim said from across the room. 

"I missed you, too, Ellison," Blair shot back, making his way to his lover's side. 

"That's just my stomach talking, Chief," Jim whispered as they exchanged a brief kiss, "the rest of me is totally yours." 

"Come and get it!" Griff called out, and none of them wasted any time in taking their places at the dining room table. 

The meal proceeded in relative silence, marked only by quick snatches of conversation amid sounds of hunger being satisfied. 

"So, Giselle," Blair said when they were all just about done, "how come you didn't invite Simon, tonight?" He continued on, oblivious to the signals that Giselle was trying to pass to him, and the questioning look on Griff's face. "This would have been perfect. A nice no-pressure meal with friends." 

"Simon who?" Griff asked. 

"Simon Banks, you know, Jim's boss," Blair replied. 

"Anybody ever tell you that you talk too much, Blair?" Giselle said, frowning. 

"You're seeing Captain Banks?" Griff sounded totally surprised. "You've only been in town for a few weeks, how'd that happen?" 

"I'm not 'seeing' anybody. I haven't even met him yet. We've just talked on the phone. He started calling me while I was still in New York. Blair hooked it up," she finished, motioning her head in Blair's direction. 

"And you never told me?" 

"I'm not a little kid. I don't still tell you _everything_." 

Griff eyed her, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. "So...Captain Banks...he's a little... _old_ for you, isn't he?" 

"It wasn't so long ago that you were always sniffing around older men," Giselle teased. "Sorry, Nick." 

Nick grinned, eyes going back and forth between the two siblings. "Don't mind me, I'm just staying out of the line of fire." 

"See what you've done, Griff," Giselle scolded, "I've been trying to behave in front of company." 

"Technically, Nico isn't 'company'. He's thinking about moving in anyway." 

"Still, he doesn't know me. I wanted to break him in gradually." 

"Oh yeah, right. You were huddled up with him earlier, which means either you were pumping him for information, or spilling the beans about something. Which was it?" 

"Like I said, I don't tell you everything. That's between Nick and I. Right, Nick?" 

"I think I'm still out of this one," Nick said. 

"Chicken," Giselle kidded. "And see what you started, Blair?" 

"Yep," Blair laughed, "'Paris and Paris', our entertainment for the evening." 

When the rest of the table laughed at that, Giselle joked, "I would say 'fuck you all', but in this room, what good would it do me?" Snickering at the expressions on the faces of the men when they got her drift. "And to answer your question, Mr. 'Troublemaker' Sandburg, I'm meeting Simon after dinner. I didn't want our first meeting to be subject to stares and comments from the bunch of you." Turning to Griff, she added, "Is that okay with you, O Mighty Big Brother?" 

Griff mumbled something under his breath, but refused to repeat it out loud when Giselle called him on it. 

With a smug look on her face, Giselle got up from the table. "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to get ready for the rest of my evening." 

"Not _too_ ready, I hope," Griff said jokingly. 

"You'd better remember that I still keep up with my martial arts training. You don't want me to damage something that Nick might miss." 

Nick, who unfortunately had just taken a drink, choked and sputtered as liquid sprayed from his mouth. The others laughed, except Griff who eyed his sister, trying to decide whether or not to chance a comeback. The look on his face made the rest laugh even more. 

Satisfied that she'd had the last word, Giselle turned in the direction of her bedroom. When she came back, they were still joking around, giving Griff a hard time. She shook her head in mock exasperation, waving as she made her way to the door. 

"Now, you be good boys and clean up the kitchen and everything. I'll see you later, Griff, but don't wait up." Then there was the thump and click as the front door closed and was locked. 

"You heard the lady, Chief, let's help Griff clear this stuff up." 

"Hey, I do enough dishes at home." 

"Don't even try it, Blair. You started this whole thing," Griff said, getting up taking his plate. And how come neither one of you told me about Simon Banks anyway?" 

Jim and Blair got up, collecting dishes and food, following Griff into the kitchen; each offering excuses and protests about withholding information. 

Nick sat there, indulging for a moment in the familial aspect that seemed to come along with the group, then happily got up to join the other men for kitchen duty. 

* * *

Jim was nervous, but he didn't want to admit it. Instead, he burned off the anxiety by cleaning, fixing food, and then cleaning some more. He had already had one workout that day, and was seriously considering dropping to the floor and doing 100 pushups, but he shrugged off that urge, resisted the temptation to check on the liquor supply one _more_ time, and went to sit with Blair who was reading on the couch presenting the perfect picture of calm, cool and collected. 

'Fine, let _him_ work on relieving my tension,' he smirked to himself. 

"Chief..." 

"Hmmm..." 

"Feel like putting the book down and...um... _talking_?" 

"Mmmm..." 

" _Chief_..." Jim tugged on the book in Blair's hands, surprised at how tightly Blair was gripping it. He focused a bit, and everything seemed normal -- heartrate, breathing...maybe _too_ normal...slow, steady beat, slow, deep breaths, _controlled_. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

"Blair, talk to me," Jim said, at that moment referring to actual conversation. "I can tell you're trying hard to _seem_ okay." 

Blair huffed loudly, fingers fidgeting with his pants legs. "Do you think this is a good idea?" 

Jim felt his stomach flip a little. In his anxious state, he hadn't realized how nervous Blair was, too. But then, it calmed him to be in the position of offering support rather than needing it. "Yes, I do. But we don't have to if you don't want to." 

"Everybody'll be here in a few hours." 

"But we could make it just like poker night...except without the cards." 

"Ass," Blair said affectionately, tapping Jim on the leg with a fist. 

Jim grabbed it, unclenching the fingers, holding the hand in his own. 

"So, you don't think that maybe it's corny?" Blair continued. "I mean, this is the weekend before Valentine's Day and everything." 

"No, I think it's nice. I'll admit that I've been nervous about it. But not about 'it', exactly..." 

"What about?" 

"Just the idea of _talking_ about us...in front of people." 

"It's not a _lecture_ , Jim. You don't have to give a speech. There's not going to be any discussion. I was just going to confirm what we both think that everybody suspects, anyway. It's not a wedding...you don't have to declare anything." 

"I _wanted_ to say a little something," Jim said quietly. 

"Yeah?" Blair's face lit up, broad grin, bright eyes, pleasant surprise in his voice. 

"Yeah, Sandburg, I'm not a total loser, you know." Jim cuffed Blair on the back of the head, then slid his hand lower, burying his fingers in the loose curls, curving them around Blair's neck, tugging gently until Blair moved closer. 

"I've never referred to you as a 'loser'...'schmuck' maybe, but loser, no." 

Jim squeezed Blair's neck once in retaliation, then started a gentle massage. After a minute, Blair reached out, his hand going for Jim's crotch, mimicking Jim's movements. The tension in Blair's neck and shoulders eased while the tension in Jim's pants hit new highs. 

"We could take this upstairs," Blair said, working Jim's zipper down, slipping his hand inside the opening. When Jim only groaned in answer, he added, "Then again, why waste the energy getting up?" 

The subsequent growling sounds from Jim were the result of Blair going _down_ , sucking Jim's cock into his mouth all the way to the root. Jim's fingers knotted in Blair's hair, cupping the back of his head, pushing down as he thrust his hips up, loving that sort of tension, that tight on-the-edge feeling, his previous nervousness forgotten. Ready to come, ready, ready, ready... 

He hissed at the sudden coolness of air hitting his wet flesh as Blair pulled free, hissed again at the sudden coolness of lube being applied to him, leaving him slick and cold and hard, a heat-seeking missile on alert. Through heavy lids he watched as Blair removed his pants and underwear and then straddled him, executing a slow ride that was pure heaven. Blair felt tight and hot around him, then tighter and hotter, and Jim didn't even try to hold back, he went readily towards release, making the noises that Blair loved to hear, barely registering the motions as Blair jerked himself off, coming hard, spraying on them both. 

Jim managed to slip out of Blair's body, and take him in an embrace after Blair collapsed on top of him with a loud grunt. 

"Damn," Blair gasped, "and we were already dressed, too." 

"That's okay," Jim whispered, "I have something else that I want you to wear anyway." 

"Sorry, Dad. I pick my own clothes. Besides, I thought this was your favorite sweater?" Blair grimaced, not wanting to think about the mess he'd made of it. 

"It is, but I'd like to see you in this...if that's okay." 

A small box appeared in front of Blair's face. "There's no way you could fit an outfit in there." 

"I know this party isn't a ceremony, but it is sort of symbolic, so..." 

"So you're telling me that there's a ring in there?" 

"I'm telling you to _open_ it, Sandburg." Jim thrust the box a little further under Blair's nose. Then suddenly pulled it back. "Shit. I should have asked you about this beforehand, right? I'm sorry..." 

"No, that's not it. Look," Blair said, taking the box, and kissing Jim on the lips before getting up, "let's go upstairs. We're sticky and wrinkled and we have people coming over soon. But, I have something for you, too. Great minds, I guess," he grinned. "I was going to wait until after the party to talk to you about it, but since you've jumped the gun..." 

" _You_ bought _me_ a ring?" 

"Hey, I'm no loser, either. This is serious shit to me." 

"No, not a loser at all. Just the schmuck that I fell in love with." 

"Ditto." 

They made their way up the stairs, and after stripping off their soiled clothes, Blair got the box that he had hidden, handing it to Jim. 

"So, we're going to wear rings, huh?" 

"Yeah, Chief, we're going to wear rings." 

When they went back down the stairs to take a quick shower, they were both naked, with the exception of the gold gleaming on their left hands. 

* * *

"Whew!" Blair exclaimed, dropping onto the couch and watching Jim collect the assorted trash that had been generated by a house full of guests. "That seemed to go well." 

Jim paused, empty beer bottles in his hand, and turned in Blair's direction. "Were you really expecting some sort of catastrophe?" 

"No, not really. They were all our friends and everything, but still, some of them were cops..." 

"Those 'cops' _know_ us, Chief." 

"I know. I wasn't looking for a blowup or anything, but it was a relief to see everyone okay with it. Unsubstantiated rumors are one thing, confirmed facts are another. There's enough chance for trouble at the station as it is...or out in the field...without it being from someone you thought was a friend." 

"I don't think that speculation would have stopped extremists from acting out, Chief. So, hopefully, there won't be any changes for the worse. But, we'll deal with it, if there is, right?" 

"Right. And in the meantime, it was a great party." Blair picked up a napkin that was lying near his foot on the coffee table, wadded it into a tight ball and lobbed it at Jim, making a direct hit to his head, and smiling when Jim glared at him. "So, I guess it's official...you're now James Ellison-Sandburg." 

"And you are officially a nut," Jim said dryly, tying up bags and taking them into the kitchen. 

"I just feel good, man." 

"You know, Mr. Feel Good, you could give me a hand with this mess," Jim called out, running the water so that it could get hot for washing dishes. 

"I was just getting ready to tell you to leave that crap until tomorrow, so that I could take you upstairs and make _you_ feel good." 

"Yeah?" Jim said, turning off the water and reaching for a paper towel. 

"Oh yeah." There was The Tone, and, like a good boy, Jim's dick responded to it immediately. 

"But," Blair continued, voice full of contained laughter, "I don't want you to be distracted later by the sound of food residue hardening on all of those dirty plates, so I guess I better help you out." 

When Blair appeared by his side, Jim said, "I was starting to lean towards the 'going upstairs' idea, myself." 

"Yeah?" 

"Oh yeah." Jim tried out his own version of The Tone, pleased at the rush of heat that came from Blair's direction. 

"Then, let's get this honeymoon underway." 

Unable to help it, Jim laughed, still finding himself surprised at how damned happy Blair made him. "You're a total nut," he said softly, leaning forward to lick a salty patch of skin behind Blair's ear. 

Despite the ensuing frenzy of lips and hands, they actually managed to make it out of the kitchen, shedding clothes the whole way. And though they didn't quite make it the last few feet to the bed, neither Jim nor Blair seemed to mind that the 'honeymoon' officially started right at the top of the stairs. 

* * *

Simon expertly maneuvered into the only available parking spot, two blocks away from where Griffin and Giselle lived. He cut the engine to his car, trying not to feel nervous. 

"The party turned out nicely, don't you think?" Giselle asked from the passenger seat. 

"Yes, yes it did. Very nice," Simon answered, hoping he sounded natural. 

"It's great to see Jim and Blair so happy." 

"They're both good guys." 

"Do you think that with them being a little more public, it'll cause problems for Jim at work?" 

Simon hesitated. The same question had been on his mind ever since Jim had told him about buying Blair a ring the week before. "From what I've seen, I don't think he'll have any trouble with the Major Crimes squad, but there are jerks in every crowd. We'll have to wait and see." 

"The ones I met tonight seemed like a decent bunch. Megan, Henri, Rafe..." 

"I'm proud of the detectives under my command," Simon said, then he added, "It was nice to see your brother again, and under much better circumstances." 

"Amen to that. You know, he was very impressed with you back then. The way you handled his case, the way you handled your job in general." 

"So, I guess he's okay with you seeing me?" 

"What does that matter?" 

"I don't want to cause any disruptions between you two." 

"Let me ask you something. Are _you_ okay with me seeing you?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"If Blair hadn't set it up, and you had met me, say, at the party tonight, would you have asked me out?" 

"Well..." 

"I see...so, is it my age or my profession?" 

"It's really not like that." 

"Then what _is_ it like, Captain Banks?" 

"Let me ask _you_ something. If you had just met _me_ tonight, would you have wanted me to ask you out? Or would you have been more interested in somebody like Rafe?" 

"I see your point...our paths might not have naturally intersected, but you're tall and good looking, strong and caring, and I like you. And that has nothing to do with Blair pleading your case. We had some great conversations over the phone. So, are you really interested in spending time with me, or not?" 

"You're beautiful and smart, and I thought we had a good time the other night at that jazz club. Yes, I'm interested." 

"So, you don't have a problem with my work?" 

"No. Do you have a problem with me being a cop?" 

"No. And my age?" 

"Well, do you promise never to refer to me as your 'old man'?" 

Giselle laughed, and it made a smile break out on Simon's face. "As long as you promise the same about referring to me as 'baby girl'," she said. 

"Deal." 

"So, shall we start over?" 

Still smiling, Simon said, "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Simon Banks." 

"Giselle Paris...nice to meet you." 

They both laughed, and their previous awkwardness seemed to ease. 

"So, do you want to come up?" Giselle asked after a moment. 

"Well, I was going to at least walk you up to your door." 

"I like your style, Simon." 

"And I like you," Simon answered, refusing to let embarrassment keep him from voicing the sentiment. 

They got out of the car, making idle chitchat as they went up to Giselle's condo. At the door, Giselle pulled out her key, and then faced Simon. 

"Sure you don't want to come in for a while?" 

"I'd love to, but I have an early day tomorrow. My son is coming in for the rest of the weekend. But I can get tickets for us to a play next week, or maybe just dinner and a movie?" 

"I'd like either, you decide and let me know. Call me?" 

"I will. Goodnight." 

As Simon turned to go, Giselle grabbed onto his arm, saying, "Why don't you kiss me." 

So, Simon did, right there in the hallway by the front door, feeling foolishly...wonderfully...like a teenager. 

And he smiled all the way home. 

* * *

Griff got out of his car and walked to where Nick stood waiting for him. "Are you sure you don't want to come back to my place?" he asked, following Nick to the side of the triplex house that he shared with four other students, and down the stairs to Nick's lower level unit. 

"Not tonight. I have an early tutoring session, and I set it up here. It's easier not to have to drive back in the morning or have you get up and drop me off. But if you want to get back, that's fine, I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" 

Griff moved closer to his lover as the door was opened, embracing him from behind. "No, I want to be with you. We've both been so busy lately." 

Inside, Nick locked up, and they shared a brief kiss. "Your books are coming along great, though." 

"Yeah, but writing two is a bitch. Remind me to _never_ attempt that again." Griff took off his coat, plopping down on an overstuffed armchair, the one piece of comfortable furniture in Nick's living area. He picked up the remote from the arm, and idly flipped through television channels, sound muted as he listened to the movements of Nick in the small space. 

"You look tired." 

Griff looked up to see Nick had already taken off his shirt and sweater. He still got a rush out of seeing Nick's bare arms...the lean muscles and golden brown skin brought back memories of his fantasies from their early days of working together. He smiled, reaching to pull Nick down onto his lap. "I am, a little." 

Nick pulled back, urging Griff to his feet. "Then turn the TV off, and let's crash." 

They walked back to the bedroom, Griff's attention drawn to the shape of Nick's ass moving in front of him, and he missed the question that Nick asked him. 

"What?" 

"I said, what did you think of the party?" 

"Interesting," Griff answered, stretching a bit as he took off his own sweater. 

"Simon seems like a nice guy." 

"He's okay. Gigi likes him." 

"And you don't?" 

"No, I do. But you always look at a guy differently when he's going out with your sister." 

"Giselle is capable of handling herself, I think." 

"She is, but I'm still her brother." 

Nick threw him a look, but when Griff questioned it, Nick only shook his head. 

When they were undressed, they got together under the blankets, chuckling as they adjusted to the narrower fit of Nick's bed as opposed to the huge bed they stretched out in at Griff's place. 

"I just can't get over Jim Ellison settled down...with a man," Griff said. "Hard to believe that they've been together almost two years now." 

"And to think he let you get away." 

"Jim and I never quite managed to time things right." 

"Are you sorry?" 

"Not anymore," Griff said softly, squeezing Nick gently in his arms. 

Nick squeezed back, saying, "Well, I admit that I'm glad it didn't work out between you two. That meant you were just ready for me to come along." As he spoke, Nick felt Griff slowly growing hard, the hot flesh brushing along his thigh which was nestled between Griff's legs. "I thought you were tired..." 

"I am," Griff said, yawning to prove his point, "but that thing has a mind of its own." 

Nick scratched at Griff's belly, and was rewarded with a twitch of Griff's dick, reaching lower he grabbed it, stroked it a few times with his fist, then he was moving, twisting, facing it, swallowing it, positioning himself so that Griff could do the same to him. They mirrored each other with slow, deep suction, tongues swirling, fingers finding slick places, losing themselves in the uphill ride as ripples of pleasure took them higher, hearts pumping and dicks pulsing until they peaked with a crashing climax, and then licking each other clean through the sweet, shuddering aftershocks. Afterwards, they collapsed into each other's arms feeling wonderfully exhausted. 

"Nico..." Griff said minutes later. 

"Hmmmm..." 

"We're not going to get a chance to go away this weekend, think we can plan something for the end of the month? Somewhere warm?" 

"I don't know. I'm under a crunch here, trying to get everything done. I already had that year off, and I don't want to fall further off schedule. Why don't we just go up to the lake house for a weekend?" 

"This time of year?" 

"The roads are clear since there hasn't been much snow. I'll keep you warm when we get there." 

Griff gave a throaty chuckle. "I have to admit that that sounds promising. One more thing...about moving in..." 

"Griffin, please, I've told you it's not that I don't want to...it's just too..." 

"Fast, I know. I hear you. But looking at Jim and Blair tonight, I know what I want. 'Fast' for me doesn't make it less real or less true. I've done my share of playing around. So, will you at least take a key? I want you to have a key to the condo." 

There was a pause as Nick thought about it. "Okay." 

"And one to the lake house, too." 

Nick cursed softly, in English _and_ Spanish, but he was laughing as he said, "Griffin, what am I going to do with you?" 

Griff pulled Nick up along his body, aligning cocks that immediately started to get hard again. "Well, since you brought it up...I have a few ideas about that." 

And a kiss was only the beginning. 

* * *

Blair gave a slight nod when he recognized the figure slipping into the back of his class. Ten minutes later, he had wrapped up his lecture, dismissed his students, and the last stragglers were finally wandering out as he went over and sat down a desk away from Nick Alvarez. 

"Hey, Nick, what's up?" The two hadn't seen much of each other in the several weeks since Jim and Blair's 'coming out' party. 

Nick smiled, "Just seeing how the other half lives." 

"Same as when you left, man." 

"You were good up there." 

Blair shrugged, a half grin on his face. "I like it." 

"Got time for lunch?" 

"If we can make it quick." 

"Then I've got just the thing in my bag...how's your office sound?" 

"Fine. What's on your mind?" Blair asked, rising and leading the way out of the classroom. 

"Nothing, really. Just needed a break. Deadline's looming ahead and it started to get to me. I had forgotten what it was like when you get near the end. If I had remembered, I think I would have just stuck with my Masters in Anthro." 

"Hey, I've taken the _long_ way with my doctoral thesis. It feels good just to be done." 

"You finished?" 

"All over but the shouting. I'll finish my last set of revisions this week, and I have a meeting with Dr. Turner after Spring Break." 

"Shit. Congratulations, man. I hope you kick ass in your defense." 

"Thanks," Blair said, just as they got to his office door. "It's been a rollercoaster ride, man." 

"Yeah? What do you mean?" 

"Too long and complicated to get into now. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it." He unlocked the door, and when they were inside, cleared a spot for Nick to sit down. 

"I get the feeling that you're talking about more than just a research paper. Everything okay?" 

"I think everything will work out fine, yeah." 

"Well, if you ever need to talk..." 

"Same here, man, so why don't you tell me what's really going on." 

Nick busied himself with taking some sandwiches out of his bag, handing one to Blair along with bottles of water. After taking a bite of his own, he finally spoke. 

"Do you ever feel smothered...with Jim, I mean. Like with him trying to take care of you?" 

Blair put his sandwich down, and gave a wry laugh. "Well, Jim has an overprotective streak a mile wide, but he has reason to because of the work he does, and how closely I've gotten involved in it. But I've been able to help him in ways nobody else could have, so he's gotten used to the idea that we take care of each other. You're having a problem with Griff, I take it." 

"Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt what he feels for me, or what I feel for him, despite the fact that we've only been together for six months, but I think maybe we're just too far apart in our living. Even though we're almost the same age, he's been out of school for almost fifteen years, and written five novels, and made tons of money, and I'm still a struggling student." 

"You think he looks down on you?" 

"Maybe not, but that's how it feels sometimes." 

"Nicky, talk to him." 

"I've tried...somehow, I end up either giving in, or having sex, or both." 

Blair laughed. "Next time try talking when you're not within fucking distance, man." 

Nick threw a piece of lettuce across the desk, laughing when it caught in Blair's hair. Then he shrugged. "Maybe I'm just doing the stereotypical guy thing and running from commitment." 

"There's nothing wrong with playing the field if you want, but you should be honest and up-front with Griffin and yourself." 

"But that's just it. I'm not interested in seeing anyone else." 

"You _are_ over David Parks, aren't you?" 

Nick stared at him. "How did you know about that?" 

"Us anthropologists are notorious busybodies, you know that, and a professor/student affair is hot news, even though he was no longer your teacher at the time. Plus, it lasted over a year." 

"Doesn't matter. Once I went back home to be with my mother, David wasn't interested in keeping the relationship going." 

"So, no baggage there?" 

"No." 

"Then if you want the thing with Griffin to work, you better get everything out in the open, before something major happens." 

"We're going up to the lake over break. I could always try tying him to the boat and threatening to set him out to sea if he doesn't listen." 

"Whatever works, man." Blair gathered his lunch debris, and showed perfect form as he tossed it into his wastebasket. "Look, I gotta run. Just talk to him, okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 

"Oh, I was going to call you...I wanted to take you out for a drink on your birthday." 

"Really? Okay. I think Griffin will want to do dinner or something, but I'll meet you earlier." 

"Cool, there's a new place I want to check out. I'll get in touch with you later this week." 

"Great, and thanks for lunch." 

They walked out together, with Blair rushing off to a meeting, and Nick moving slowly in the opposite direction. 

* * *

Blair tried to tell himself that the fluttering he felt inside wasn't fear, but rather excitement over finally being done, finally about to share the fruits of his labors. But his legs were rubbery as he left his old room--his current in-home office, and the thick sheaf of papers in his hand seemed extraordinarily heavy. Despite taking slow breaths and silently reassuring himself, his heart was beating fast enough for Jim to look up, eyeing him questioningly as he approached where Jim sat on the couch reading the newspaper. 

In answer, Blair handed over the papers he held, and watched as Jim read the cover, eyes traveling over the words: The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg. 

"Your dissertation? You're actually done? This is it?" 

"Sort of. I mean, I'm finished, but that's not it. That's...ours." 

"What do you mean?" 

"That's the Sentinel research, but I'm not turning it in." 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"I told you before that I had enough data for ten dissertations. That was only a slight exaggeration. A long time ago, I decided to officially change my thesis to the closed society paper. You know, on the department." 

"And this?" Jim asked, holding up the Sentinel paper. 

"I told you...that's _ours_. The culmination of our working together on your senses." 

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" 

With a shrug, Blair answered, "I think subconsciously I didn't want to really face that I wasn't going to publish it. But that Sentinel stuff is personal, Jim. I would have had to do some major stripping to get it back to even a semblance of the objective scientific data that's appropriate for a doctoral thesis. Not to mention working on hiding your identity in some way. _And_ the fact that I'd become so involved with you...even before we became a couple. I had a hard time letting go of the idea of sharing that with the world, but I think it's for the best. And the police paper actually turned out pretty good." 

"We've been sleeping together for two years, Sandburg. And you never thought to even _mention_ it?" 

"I thought you'd be relieved that your life wouldn't be on display." 

Jim sighed, dropping the dissertation beside him on the couch. "I am, I guess. I had been trying not to think about what might come after you turned it in, but, dammit, you should have at least told me that you were considering options." 

"It was my decision to make, Jim. Look...just...just read it, okay?" 

"Yeah, okay." 

"I think it's a good thing, Jim. Maybe, one day, I'll pare it down, and it can be part of the pool of Sentinel resources along with Burton's monograph. And in the meantime we have the chance to see how things change with you over time...so, see, we're not done." 

"Fine, Sandburg." 

"So, you'll read it?" 

"Yeah," Jim said as he picked up his previously abandoned newspaper. 

"And we're okay, here?" 

"We're fine." 

Blair went back to his office area to print out the _final_ final version of his 'official' thesis, unable to muster any happiness about finishing two days ahead of schedule. As he sat at the desk, he mumbled to himself, "Right. Fine." 

And they _were_ fine. But not 'good', Blair thought. They talked, they worked, they lived, and in between Jim read the research paper. And they were...fine. 

Three days after handing the paper over to Jim, Blair came home from the university and found it had been put back in the home office in a neat stack on the desk. The shower was running, and he went upstairs to get something ready to wear for later that night. Minutes later, they passed each other on the stairs, exchanging greetings as Blair went to take his turn in the shower. When Blair went back up to the bedroom, Jim was bare-chested, wearing just his slacks as he pulled a freshly pressed shirt from the closet. Blair tied his hair back into a ponytail, and started putting on his own fresh clothes. Finally, he spoke up, breaking the tense silence. 

"I see you finished the paper. What did you think?" 

"Enlightening." 

Blair paused in the process of zipping his pants, stomach tightening at Jim's tone. "Enlightening?" 

"Okay. _Interesting_." 

"All right, Jim, spit it out. Obviously, something's on your mind, so what is it?" 

"What do you want me to say, Sandburg?" Jim growled. "It was enlightening to read how you see me as a crazy coward. Interesting that you've gotten involved with me, someone that you wrote has problems with...intimacy. Fucking _great_ to know that I'll be a lifetime project for perfect Dr. Blair Sandburg who is bound and determined to 'fix' me! You were looking for pats on the back? Well, that's the best that I can do." 

Blair just stared when Jim was done. The outburst was far more than what he had anticipated. "Jim, it's not like that. Not at all." 

"Sure it is, Chief. It's all there in black and white. I guess I should add how grateful I am that you're not handing it out for the university crowd to chitchat over." 

"Calm down, Jim. Get over yourself and _think_...it's not personal." 

"Hell yeah, it's personal. You said so yourself. It's page after page about _me_ , how could I not take it personally?" 

"Jim, they're _observations_ , not condemnations. Things that have influenced your behavior. Like with you and me...our relationship. I mean, if left up to you, we _still_ wouldn't be together, no matter that you loved me. Are you saying that wasn't in part due to those exact concerns? Look at how you fixated on those points, and not any of the multitude of positive things I wrote about you. Besides, so what if you have issues...we _all_ do. Those things are part of what made you, and I'm not passing judgment." 

Blair stood there, trying not to let his own emotions get the upper hand, but when Jim didn't respond, he went on. 

"As far as you being a lifetime project...I do hope to record any changes to your senses in the years ahead. But wearing this," holding up his left hand, wiggling his ring finger, "is about a commitment to _you_ , not a subject matter. Our relationship--or _any_ relationship you might have had--is not part of the 'research', Jim. There are a lot of things that I left in that paper, because I _wasn't_ turning it in. And no, I don't think I'm perfect, but I do deserve some credit for trying to do the right thing." 

Jim was still silent, walking past Blair to the dresser to strap on his watch. Finally, he said, "We're going to be late if we don't go now." 

"Jim..." 

"Let's just go, Sandburg, or we'll spoil the surprise." With that Jim went down the stairs. 

Blair followed, thinking that he was definitely not in the mood for any more surprises that night. 

* * *

They drove in silence, though it echoed loudly in the confined space, seeming to throb in Blair's ears. When they pulled up in front of their destination, Blair paused, turning to Jim before getting out of the truck. 

"The man that's my best friend and my partner isn't a flawless superman...and he's not a fucked-up loser, either. He's just the schmuck that I fell in love with." 

When there was no answer, no turn of the head to face him, just the faintest twitch of Jim's jaw, Blair sighed, then quietly got out and went inside. 

* * *

Blair pushed away from the wall he was leaning against just inside the entrance to the restaurant as soon as Nick walked in. 

"Happy Birthday, old man." 

"I still look better than you, _kid_." 

"In your dreams, man," Blair laughed. "Let's go toast this auspicious occasion with a cold one. I have a table in the back." 

"A table? I can't stay long. Griff is expecting me at the condo." 

"No problem. Jim's meeting me here later for dinner, anyway." 

The two men walked towards the back of the restaurant, and Blair turned into a side doorway. When Nick followed, stepping into what turned out to be a private room, he was greeted with a chorus of "Surprise!" 

Blair felt an elbow hit his ribs, and heard Nick's low hiss beside him. "Your ass is grass." 

"Hey, I'm just the go-between. The real culprit is over there," Blair said, pointing to a grinning Griffin Paris. 

Nick walked through the small gathering of well-wishers, smiling at the familiar faces, until he stopped at Griff's side. 

"Happy birthday, Nico." 

"Thanks. I thought we were having a quiet dinner at home." 

"Well, I have some plans for later on at home, but I'm hoping they won't turn out to be _quiet_." Griff drew Nick close for a kiss. "Ready to eat?" 

"Sure," Nick answered, as he was led to the large table that had been set for the group. 

Food started arriving, and the group became pleasantly rowdy as they chatted and laughed their way through the meal. When they were all mostly done, Griff tapped his fork against his glass, quieting the group with the pinging sound. 

"It's time for the best part of any birthday, and I want to go first. Nico, close your eyes." 

Nick eyed him warily, then slowly lowered his lids. He felt Griff's hands on his shoulders, drawing him to his feet. 

"Keep them closed," Griff said in his ear, and he was guided to a point a few steps away from the table. "Give me your hand," he heard, and something was pressed into it. "Open your eyes and look straight ahead," and he did--his hand discerning the object it held as he focused his gaze out of the wide windows in front of him. 

"Happy Birthday," he heard, his eyes fixed on the black SUV, gleaming under bright streetlights. 

"Please, please, tell me you didn't." 

"Nico, you need a new car, and with--" 

Nick grabbed Griff's hand, dropping the key into it, and turned to the group who were staring, but trying to pretend that they weren't. 

"I just want to thank you all. I appreciate your coming here to help me celebrate," Nick said on his way to the doorway. 

Griff caught up to him and put out a hand to stop his exit. "Nico, wait...it's..." 

"Griffin, don't say anything. Just let me leave...right now." 

Griff moved aside, and Nick stepped hurriedly from the room. The assembled onlookers glanced awkwardly around at each other, and at Griff who still stood at the doorway, his back to them. Giselle had started to rise from her seat when a phone rang. A quick check proved that the ringing was coming from the bag that Blair had left earlier on the floor by his seat. 

Blair retrieved it, avoiding the eyes that turned their attention to him, whispering a hello as he got up to walk to the large windows behind him, staring at Griff's four-wheeled gift. 

Nick's voice answered, "Blair...don't you dare say it's me." 

"Okay." 

"I need a favor, and no comments. My car won't start, and I need a jump." 

"Okay." 

"I'm around the corner on Market." 

"Okay, Jim and I will be right there." 

"Jim?" 

"We came together." 

"Shit. Okay." 

The connection was cut and Blair went over to whisper in Jim's ear, wondering if Jim had been eavesdropping. When he had explained the situation, Jim nodded and got up. 

"Um...we have to go," Blair said, "something's come up." He picked up his bag, going for the door. "Sorry," he said quietly to Griff on his way out. 

"You okay?" Jim asked as he was leaving, to which Griff nodded. He watched as Griff went back to the table, slouching down in his seat. 

When Jim caught up to Blair, he heard Griff comment in a sad, husky voice, "I guess the party's over." 

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Jim and Blair were on their way home after having gotten Nick's car up and running with the barest minimum of conversation. Blair leaned his head against the window on his side, eyes closed, thinking that he'd had more than enough fun for one evening. Not that it's over, he said to himself, dreading the rest of the night with a tense and angry Jim. 

"Think they'll work it out?" 

The sudden sound of Jim's soft question startled him from his brooding thoughts. He hesitated before answering, "I don't know. They..." His voice trailed off, and he repeated, "I don't know," his mind more focused on whether he and Jim would be working things out. 

When Jim reached over and took his hand, the surprise almost outweighed the relief that rippled through him. When Jim said, "I love you, Blair," his heart and stomach took turns doing flips and rolls and he shuddered, exhaling loudly, as if he hadn't been breathing at full capacity up until that very moment. 

He opened his eyes, feeling the warmth of Jim's hand on his, turned to watch the strong profile of his lover, who continued to look straight ahead as he drove. 

"I know you do, Jim." 

"I...I never realized...It's important how you see me." 

"I see you fine, Jim. I see _you_ , tattered cape and all, man. And I love you more than I've ever loved anybody." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Me too," Blair answered as Jim squeezed his hand, thinking there would be time enough later for talking things through. 

"So..." Jim said, making it a tentative question. 

"Yeah," Blair answered, holding tight to Jim's hand, slight smile on his face. 

All the way back to the loft, Jim's thumb rubbed back and forth over the ring on Blair's left hand. And Blair thought that maybe no other words would be needed after all. 

* * *

It was about six in the morning, his head hurt, his eyes burned, he generally felt like crap, but Nick was wide-awake, and the knock on his door didn't even surprise him. In fact, he was more surprised that it had taken so long. All night, he had been waiting for Griff to call or show up or both, but there hadn't been any attempts to make contact. He wasn't looking forward to any confrontation, but he went to the door with the thought that it was better to get it over with. 

He felt an unexpected chill when he opened the door, a slight breeze raising goosebumps on his arms, and causing him to curl his toes into the carpet. Or maybe it was just the sight of Griff standing there with an uncertain expression on his handsome face. 

"I know it's early..." Griff began. 

Nick simply shrugged, stepping aside so that Griff could enter the room. He turned around where he stood, putting his hands behind his back and gripping the doorknob as he watched Griff shift nervously from foot to foot. 

"I guess I fucked up, huh?" Griff asked, eyes going to the floor after a quick glance in Nick's direction. 

Nick didn't answer, just kept his eyes focused on Griff's face. 

"Okay," Griff went on, "I know that I might have gone overboard, but only because it was your _birthday_." 

"We've talked about that kind of stuff before," Nick said, the words hoarse and rusty. 

"Nico..." 

"Don't do that. Don't call me that. You always do that...and I end up letting you off the hook. Not this time." 

"Nico... _Nicolas_ , I'm sorry. You have every right to be upset with me--" 

"Griffin, look..." Nick swallowed, throat tight and pain beating stronger inside his head. "This is not working. Maybe our timing is off, and we're just at different places in our lives, but I don't think that we should see each other anymore." 

"That's it? Just like that? Without giving me a chance to make it right?" Emotions pushing each word out at an increasing volume. "You can't mean that. I know you're mad, but yell at me or something..." Already close to yelling himself. 

"Then what? You yell some more? We move on to fists? Just to assert each side? Griffin, there's no point in me being angry about this." 

"What the hell is on your mind? I'm not talking about a brawl. I'm talking about getting things out in the open. I'd rather you get pissed and tell me off than just...This can't be..." 

Nick stepped forward, oddly calm, "You should leave." 

Griff stared, mouth working but unable to voice any of the things that were racing through his head. Finally, after a deep breath, he spoke. "Nicolas, you can't just quit because of this. You don't walk away from something that's good at the first sign of rough waters. I'm sorry, I know it's all my fault, but you can't just...leave me." 

"I won't lie, I love you, but...Griff...just go, okay?" He turned away, opening the door. 

"Nico...please..." Griff whispered, walking up to Nick's side. 

"I..." Nick stopped, unsure what he wanted say, unsure if he could keep from changing his mind if he said anything more. Griff looked down at him, and couldn't help but lift his gaze to meet suspiciously bright eyes. 

"I'm sorry." Griff pressed his lips briefly to Nick's cheek, and then left. 

When Nick had locked back up, he was chilled and shaky, and didn't even try to pretend it had anything to do with cool morning air. He dropped into the armchair, glancing at the blue numbers on the VCR. Only 6:21 AM, and the day was already shot to hell. 

* * *

"Hello?" 

"Hey, Blair. Is Jim around?" 

"Yeah, Griff. Hang on a sec." 

Blair handed the phone over to Jim, resisting the urge to lean over and try to listen in. 

"What's going on, Griff?" 

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading up to the lake today, and you won't have to come rescue me like last time. I've got food and I just want to be alone. We...I had planned on spending the next week up there anyway." 

"I know...spring break. Blair and I will be up at Stephen's place probably sometime tomorrow. It's...you know..." 

"Oh, hell. Your anniversary...two years since we ran into each other up there. I'm happy for you, man." 

"Thanks. What about...?" 

"It's over. Seems like the Paris luck with men is going strong," Griff said, emitting a harsh chuckle. 

"Give him time." 

"Yeah. I've gotta go, Jim." 

"We'll be down the road if you need to talk or something. Just call, okay?" 

"I'm not going to barge in on your time." 

"Just promise that you'll remember that we're close by. Don't make me drive over to check on you." 

"Fine, but don't worry about me. You and Blair enjoy yourselves. Later." 

"See you, Griff." 

Blair took the phone, placing it back on the table beside him. He didn't speak, but his eyes asked questions that Jim answered with a shake of his head. They sat very close together on the couch, silently watching as the sun went down, and darkness crept across the room. 

* * *

Nick poked his head in through the slightly open door to Blair's office at the university, and cursed under his breath. 

"Don't be mad at Blair," Giselle said, "I put him up to it. He and Jim left today to go up to the lake, and I thought you might not agree to see me." 

"I don't mind seeing you, Giselle, but I don't want to talk about Griffin with you. Or anybody." 

"I'm not here to talk. I have something for you. You left the other night before I had a chance to give you my birthday gift." She picked up a flat package wrapped in plain white paper. "Well, at least you know it's not a truck." 

Nick laughed despite himself. "Thanks." 

"You can open it." 

"I will, but I think you do have something to say, so why don't we get that out of the way." 

"It's none of my business." 

"But..." Nick said with a slight smile. 

"But," Giselle acknowledged, smiling back, "what else is new, I know. Seriously, Griffin is my brother, and I love him very much, but I understand how you feel. I've been there. I just want you to understand how Griff feels." 

"Giselle, Griffin and I just aren't on the same wavelength about things." 

"That could be, but when it comes to Griff doing, buying, giving, it's not so simple. I know how it seems sometimes, but none of it is meant to demean, or meant to imply that you're incapable in any way. Our father died a few years ago, and Griff is just like him...even more so now that Dad's gone...he has a big 'provider' instinct. He watched my father work his ass off to provide for us and help out others, and when Griff's books started paying off, he wanted to ease the burden. Not just for the family, but other people and causes that are important to him. I know it can be overwhelming, but he's not really extravagant. Think about it. He hasn't given you anything that you couldn't use, and at least he didn't park a Porsche outside that restaurant. He has the means, and it's part of the way that he shows that he cares, Nick." 

"That may all be true, but it's too much for me right now." 

"You have to do what the rest of his loved ones have done. Let him do his part, but make sure that he knows that you're in charge of your own life." 

"It doesn't matter what I say, I don't think he _hears_ me." 

"Then give him hell for it, but don't just throw away a good thing. If you really don't want to be with him, that's different." 

After a long silence, Nick spoke. "My father died a few years ago, too. He had very strong ideas about what makes a man a 'man', and being gay was definitely not on the list. Even before my sexuality became an issue, his opinions were constantly shouted out, and talking back only led to hitting, so I learned it was easier to control my anger. But, I never tried to deny my homosexuality, never tried to date girls to please my father, I just kept my sex life away from home, didn't let the names he called me define me, and I developed my own ideas about the man I wanted to be. It's important that I stand on my own, as an Hispanic man, as a gay man, as a struggling student, as whatever I turn out to be." 

"You don't think that Griff knows that? You think that he believes I'm unable to find a place to live on my own, so he had to buy a condo just to provide a roof over my head here? It fulfills something in him to be _able_ to give. It's just something to think about, Nick. In whatever talking you've done, I have the feeling you've told me more than you ever told him. I apologize for butting in. I hope you like your gift." She headed for the door, and before she left, she added, "Griff went ahead and drove on up to the lake," closing the door behind her before Nick could respond. 

Nick peeled the paper off the package, and even though he had a pretty good idea of what was inside, it still hit him like a kick in the gut...his breath leaving in a rush. As always, he was in awe of Giselle's work, but it was even more amazing to see himself and Griff captured on paper, looking so...happy. They hadn't posed for it, but it looked as if she had caught them in a true, candid moment. Griff standing behind him, arms draped loosely across his shoulders, nothing sexual about it at all, but there was _something_...in their smiles, maybe, or their eyes, that said to the world that they were in love. 

The impact was so intense, he didn't have the strength to stand...knees buckling until he was sitting on the floor, leaning back against Blair's desk. He sat there, butt growing numb, legs cramping, unable to make himself move for a very long time. 

* * *

Griff heard the slam of a car door, and in a low voice he cursed the name of Jim Ellison. Truthfully, he welcomed the idea of some company. Three lonely days, two lonelier nights, the quiet was closing in around him and he had gotten tired of pretending that he was actually getting any writing done. But still, he had specifically told Jim not to check on him, and he hated that Jim would think he needed looking after. 

The sudden click of a key in the lock, the rattle of the knob, and his heart was racing with the realization of who was actually outside. He rolled off of the couch, giving himself a quick once-over, rubbing a hand over his hair, adjusting his wrinkled tee-shirt and baggy sweats. Resisting the urge to sniff at his armpits, he was wiping his moist palms on his thighs just as the door opened. 

He tried not to get excited about Nick using his key, or to be too happy that Nick walked in with his duffel and laptop, yet he could feel the joy bubbling up inside him anyway. And he was glad that he managed to at least suppress his smile and keep a neutral expression on his face. 

"If you want me to leave, I'll go." Nick stood stiffly just inside the door. 

Griff almost laughed, the idea of him wanting Nick to leave was way beyond funny. 

"I realize," Nick continued, "that I came up here unannounced, and I don't want to intrude." 

"It's...good to see you. I'd like it if you stayed." 

"Okay." Nick dropped his bags, visibly relaxing. "Have you eaten?" 

His body tensing, Griff asked, "Did Jim call you?" He crossed his arms, trying to keep his voice even. "Look, if you're just here to check up on me, forget it. I'm not doing anything stupid. I'm fine." 

Nick sighed, refusing to let the tension between them get out of hand. "I haven't eaten this evening. I was going to fix us both something, unless you had already had dinner." 

"Uh...no...no, not yet." 

With a nod, Nick went to the kitchen to look for something quick but filling. When he had pots simmering on the stove, he went back to where Griff was waiting on the couch. 

"I came up here because I thought maybe we'd talk," Nick said quietly. 

"I...okay." 

"Good," Nick said, nodding again, and going to pick up his bags. He hesitated, then went to put his things away, turning in the opposite direction from the room he knew that Griff used. 

Griff swallowed the taste of disappointment, focused on the fact that Nick was there at all, and went into the kitchen to check on the food. 

* * *

The meal was eaten in silence, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. And even though they didn't share their usual smiles, Griff could almost pretend that everything was just the way it used to be. Afterwards, while he took care of the dishes, Nick ended up out on the deck. Griff joined him later, easing down into a chair, watching Nick stand at the railing in the moonlight, as they listened to the sounds of the night. When Nick spoke, his voice was low, but it still seemed loud as it filled the air. 

"Your sister came to see me." 

"What?!" Griff jumped up, his chair falling over behind him. "I swear I didn't send her. What did she want?" Under his breath he added a few threatening remarks about Giselle. 

Nick turned to look at him. "Griffin, it's cool. You know Giselle, she has an opinion and she cares about you. And she made me face something." Nick walked closer, until he was right in Griff's personal space, looking up at him, unable to read each other's eyes in the darkness. "I'm mad as hell at you, but I need to deal with that. This is...special, and I don't want to lose it. So, despite what I said the other day, do you still want to be with me?" 

"Yes." 

"Okay." There was a slight smile on Nick's face as he laid his hand briefly on Griff's belly on his way back inside. 

Griff felt as if he was thawing from the inside out, searing heat blazed a patch on his stomach and he wouldn't have been surprised to look down and see Nick's handprint burned onto the fabric of his shirt. He leaned over the deck's railing, the rush of relief so strong it brought tears to his eyes. 

* * *

Blair stumbled from the bedroom, not bothering with clothes or stopping to take off the sole sock that had survived the night still on his foot. He blinked against the brightness, yawned wide enough to make a cracking sound come from his jaw, and then blinked again to clear his vision. When he was greeted with the sight of Jim standing at the wide glass doors, after another face-splitting yawn, he smiled. It moved him in ways he didn't even try to explain to see Jim there, framed in sunlight wearing just his boxers, surveying the world around him. Like so many times before, and hopefully, millions of times to come. Hard to believe, Blair thought, that it already been two years. Hard to believe that it had _only_ been two years. Love welled up inside him, lust shot through him, his heart beat faster and he was already half-hard before he made it across the room. 

He crept up behind Jim, sighing in pleasure at the wonderfully familiar heat of him. "Morning." The words were whispered against the expanse of Jim's back, and he rubbed his unshaven cheek slowly over the warm skin. 

Jim simply hummed in response, sounding content, but slightly distracted. 

"Whatcha doing?" Blair asked him. 

Jim shrugged, and Blair could feel the muscles move in a smooth, hot, powerful wave. "I just got up to make coffee." 

"Well, I know that my nose isn't as sensitive as yours, but I don't smell any coffee." 

"I know. I never made it that far." 

"Why not?" 

"Just stopped to...look." 

"You're worried about Griff, aren't you?" 

After a brief hesitation, Jim answered, "He sounded fine on the phone." 

"But?" 

"But I wish he'd call." 

"Careful, your maternal instinct is showing. You don't fuss over Simon and Giselle like that." 

"No way. Besides being my boss, Simon is bigger than I am, and Giselle knows kickboxing or something." 

Blair snorted a few times, trying to hold back his laughter. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Sorry, Jim, but I'd pay money to see Giselle kicking your ass around a ring." He moved his hand to rub the ass in question, liking the feel of it so much through the thin cotton, that he dipped his hand inside to caress bare flesh. 

"Smartass," Jim said. "Well, anyway, you're the meddler. You should have the inside scoop. How are things going with those two?" 

"Don't ask me. The one time I brought it up to Simon, he decided I had too much time on my hands and dumped that case-cataloguing job on me. And Giselle just pinched me and told me to stop being nosy. You know, for someone who butts in so much, she's downright closemouthed when it comes to her own affairs." 

Jim chuckled, and Blair could feel the sound vibrating right through him. "Serves you right," Jim said, chuckling again. 

"Now who's being a smartass?" 

"I'm disappointed in you, Chief, you can dish it out, but you can't take it." 

Blair's immediate response was to bite Jim on the back. Then he said, "Seriously though, are you really worried about Griff?" 

"I just feel bad for him, and I'd like to make sure he's all right." 

"You could always dial up and see if you could zoom in him." 

"He's not a suspect, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't do that." 

"Why not? Just a quick check. Do you mean you never eavesdrop or _anything_?" 

"Do you _think_ I eavesdrop?" 

"I would." 

"That's good to know," Jim commented dryly. 

"Come on, if I had your abilities, there's lots of stuff that I'd want to sort of drop in on." 

"I spend enough time trying _not_ to listen to things that are supposed to be private." 

"So, just call him." 

"No, I told him we're here if he needs us." 

"In that case, enough brooding for today, okay?" 

"Okay. Are you sleepy?" 

"Nope." 

"Hungry?" 

"Nope." 

"Well, the weather's looking good, how about we take a walk by the lake." 

"How about..." Blair began, turning Jim to face him, hands traveling over the toned body, "...we waste the day in bed?" 

Like a puppet on a string, Jim's dick jerked upwards, controlled by the tongue licking circles on his chest and the persistent hands exploring the rest of him. He hissed as Blair bit his nipple giving just the right amount of painful pleasure. 

"Okay," Jim gasped, "since you're already dressed for it." 

Blair took Jim's hand, and they headed off--in opposite directions. 

"Sandburg, where are you going? Bedroom's that way." 

"I just realized that we've been breaking tradition." Blair's voice dropped even lower, "Let's go mess up the other bed." 

Happily, Jim let himself be led away. 

* * *

Griff turned his laptop back on and watched it boot up, icons appearing on the desktop while the theme from the old Batman TV show played. It was early and he was forcing himself to act normal...to not wonder about Nick. 

When he had first gotten out of bed, he had sat down to write, but ended up essentially just waiting around for Nick to wake up. A short time later when there was no sight or sound of him, he had wandered down the hall with the intention of waking him, or maybe just watching him sleep for a minute or two. But the bed had been empty, though still slightly rumpled, and only the idea of how pathetic it would look had kept him from going over and touching the sunken space where Nick had lain, or burying his face in Nick's pillow to catch a whiff of the familiar scent. 

Nick's clothes were still there, and a check out front proved that his car was still there, too, so Griff tried not to worry, turning his attention back to his work and the book that was close to completion. But instead, Nick's words played over and over in his mind, 'This is special, and I don't want to lose it', offering hope and encouragement that he readily embraced. 

He still hadn't managed to get any work done by the time that Nick came walking back in, bringing with him the scent of mountain lake air. 

"It's beautiful out," Nick said to Griff as he settled into the easychair located next to the couch. 

Nodding, Griff said, "Looks like it," as he took in the sight of Nick, thinking that it was Nick who looked beautiful in baggy shorts and an old tee-shirt, bare legs and feet stretched out in front of him. He had been trying to not even think in sexual terms, so that he wouldn't give the impression that sex was all he had been missing, but he felt himself stir inside his pants as Nick leaned his head back, presenting the curve of his throat, skin flushed with heat. He shifted in his seat, thinking that soon he would need a cold shower, or maybe a long run by the lake to burn off all of his physical and emotional tension. 

"I don't want to hang out here all day," Nick was saying, and though they hadn't made plans, Griff felt his hopes dashed, and disappointment well up at the prospect of spending the day alone. "Feel like taking the boat out?" 

The question caught Griff off guard, but he didn't miss a beat. "Sure, just let me change." He was up off of the couch in a hurry as if Nick might suddenly reconsider, putting on shorts and a polo shirt, slipping bare feet into his old boat shoes. When he was ready, he came out to find that Nick had packed a small cooler with bottles of water and some snacks, and for the first time in days, Griff was looking forward to the hours ahead. 

* * *

Nick watched Griff, admiring him handle the boat with confidence and ease. He knew that Griff loved being out on the water, and it showed on Griff's face, his expression relaxing as he breathed in the fresh air, taking them further out. He steadied himself against the railing, looking out over the water, his gaze constantly straying to Griff at the wheel. After a while, he gave up on trying to keep the hair from flying into his eyes, pulling a hair-tie from his pocket, glad that it was finally long enough to put back into a ponytail again. 

The boat slowed and stopped, and Nick closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sun penetrate his skin. 

"So, is this where you push me overboard and be done with it?" 

Nick turned in the direction of the voice to see Griff leaning over the railing next to him. "No, this is where we put our shit back together. And I need your help." 

"I am so sorry for screwing this up." 

"Don't apologize. That's not why I'm here. Just...just talk to me. Come on, let's sit down. I want you to tell me about your father." 

They sat down, facing each other, getting comfortable. 

"My father?" Griff asked. 

"Yeah, the kind of man he was and the relationship you had with him." 

So, Griff talked about his dad, Augustus Paris, the father, the husband, the man. How Gus had handled learning of his son's bisexuality. Ending with, "He was a great father, a strong man. I don't think he believed me at first when I said that I was into men _and_ women." Griff laughed, shaking his head. "He looked at my mother as if to say, 'Is he serious?' and when she nodded, he asked her to leave the room and we talked. He was always supportive and caring. I think his only problem was the extra prejudice I was opening myself up to. I had family and friends who weren't cool with it at all, and I have to admit that I was worried about my dad's reaction, but he surprised me. I miss him." 

And then Nick told Griff about Roberto Alvarez. His domination and harsh ways with his wife and sons. How he had been determined that Nick wouldn't be 'less than a man' and the weapons he had used to try to achieve that goal. "But I didn't let him win. I've always known that I was gay, there was nothing he could do to change that. I thought I had dealt well with his influence on my life, retaining some strength of character and pride in who I am, but in a lot of ways he took the fight out of me. I got used to pushing my anger away, and keeping things to myself." 

Griff reached out, needing some small sort of physical contact, and rested a hand on Nick's knee. "I was never trying to run over you. It didn't occur to me that you might give in to something that you were strongly opposed to. I admit that I wanted to persuade you, but I didn't want to overrule you." 

"It wasn't the gifts that I was opposed to, Griffin, I had problems with the way they made me feel. I guess it's just the money. My last long-term relationship was with a former professor of mine, almost twenty years older than I am, and I never felt like I wasn't his equal despite the difference in our ages and experience. But with you, I think I realize that if I stick with writing, I may not ever write a bestseller, so I would always be at a disadvantage, coming up short next to you." 

"That's not how I see you. Not at all. And I don't give you things to play up how well off I am." 

"I understand that now, I really do, but...do me a favor...next time you want to express yourself, don't reach for your wallet first. You have more to offer than that, you know." 

"You got it. Now, do you think that in the future, if we have disagreements, you can stick around and fight it out with me?" 

"I'll work on it...I can promise you that I won't just give up again." 

"Sounds good," Griff said, finally allowing himself to really feel certain about the two of them and their chances. 

For a while, they just sat together, sipping on cold water, nibbling on the things that Nick had packed, feeling a warmth that had more to do with the love between them than the sun shining bright in the sky. The conversation tapered off, but they managed to touch here and there, and whenever their eyes met, they smiled. 

"Maybe we should head back," Griff said after a while, "before we start to burn out here. I can tell you're already getting more brown." 

Griff started up the boat, ignoring that his dick was perking up, the result of the image of Nick naked in bed, his ass a few shades lighter than his newly tanned legs.... Hiding his movements, he adjusted himself inside his shorts, and then turned the boat for home. 

* * *

When the storm started, Jim relaxed. The skies unexpectedly grew dark, rain falling gently at first, but quickly picking up in intensity, and he breathed a sigh, feeling slightly relieved, listening to the drops beat a rhythm as they hit the roof, the deck, even the lake, if he concentrated hard enough. 'Maybe that's all it's been,' he thought. He'd had a vague sense of disquiet the whole day, and hadn't been able to fight the feeling that something was going on with Griff. 'Maybe I was just sensing the coming storm,' he told himself as he watched the rain through the windows. 

From behind him, he heard the sound of Blair's soft snoring. They were both tired--they had indeed wasted practically the whole day in bed, and the time had been spent rather energetically. Still, as he turned around, his earlier unease lifted, the sight of Blair sprawled out on the couch had his body responding with a slow burn. The steady pounding of the storm gave the room a dark, moody, isolated atmosphere, and his cock stirred with interest, his muscles carrying him over to Blair with the slow, sensual movements that even he couldn't deny were reminiscent of a panther stalking through the jungle. Images flashed in his mind of a tropical rain, an unsuspecting prey, a cat on the hunt.... 

He approached, dick now rock-hard, and barely kept himself from growling. But he rumbled enough that Blair made a snuffling sound in response, shifting slightly in his sleep. His for the taking, and Jim forced himself not to pounce, instead dropping slowly to his knees on the floor by the couch. 

Then, he licked. Tongue rasping over a spot on Blair's inner thigh, right above the knee, but close enough to catch the intoxicating scent emanating from the heat of Blair's crotch. He licked again, moving higher, the scent and heat rising as Blair's body started to respond though still asleep. 

Jim skipped over the boxers with the slowly growing bulge, and went further up. His finger found a hole in Blair's tee-shirt, and he stretched it until he had a wide enough tear to make it easy to rip the thin cotton up the middle, exposing Blair's upper body. 

That, plus the subsequent tonguing of his belly button, pushed Blair to consciousness, and he woke with a gasp as his arousal registered to his suddenly alert brain. 

"What's going on, Jim?" Blair groaned as Jim bit him, then sucked on the same spot, not soothing the ache, but intensifying it. 

"It's raining," Jim answered, once he was satisfied with the mark he'd made. With definite intent, he licked a trail up Blair's side, nuzzling his armpit, slicking down the hair there with wet eagerness until Blair was shaking. He moved to Blair's right nipple, teasing it with his teeth and gentle suction until the left one was aching enviously, and rose up on its own, eager for the same. 

"Raining," Blair repeated, "Okay...and?" 

Jim hesitated, lifting his mouth from his feast, not certain he could actually voice the fantasy playing out in his head. A tropical storm, a hunter's prize.... Instead, he gave a soft growl, moving lower, taking Blair's boxers with him. 

And then, he licked some more. Starting with the arch of Blair's foot, sucking a little toe, nibbling around the bony protrusion of an ankle, running his tongue over the short hairs on Blair's calves using broad swipes. 

"And, rain obviously has acquired the power to get your juices flowing," Blair panted, answering his own question. "Okay, I can get with that." 

Jim replied with teasing bites up the inside of Blair's thigh, leaving a reddened trail, before lifting one leg to lick at the back of Blair's knee. The deep, dusky scent of aroused males hung heavily in the air, filling his nostrils, and he was unable to stop a moan at the sight of Blair's ass, suddenly visible, exposed to him. 

He turned Blair over, still ignoring the hard, swollen flesh between Blair's legs, and gave his full attention to the rear view presented him. Sending teasing licks down Blair's spine, paying homage to the wonderfully enticing mounds of Blair's ass with loving wet and wild detail. 

And he didn't have to persuade Blair to open his legs wider, or raise his hips higher. By the time he had fumbled around for the lube they had dropped on the floor sometime after lunch, Blair was positioned just right. 

Entry was no problem, Jim's dick was so hard, and Blair's ass so ready, Jim thought he could have just tripped and fallen right in. And it made it easy to give the rough ride that he was in the mood for. One fist was full of hair, bending the curly head back, exposing Blair's throat for bites that Jim gave every other thrust or so, the other hand gripped a hip, pulling back to match him push for push, their sweaty flesh smacking as they moaned and groaned. The air around them was as hot and sweet and steamy as a jungle and Jim was lost in it, grunting out his pleasure, growling out his victory, practically roaring as he came inside Blair's tight heat. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Blair huffed, coughing a little as he tried to get breath back into his lungs. 

Jim withdrew slowly, feeling a rush as he watched Blair's hole contract as if protesting the sudden emptiness, slick and warm with his seed. He flipped Blair over onto his back again, getting another rush as Blair's still-hard cock stood straight up in the air, flushed and straining. His own hole spasmed and he grabbed the lube again. 

"Yeah, fuck," Jim said, his voice a low rumble, right before he swallowed Blair's dick to the root with his ass. 

It was another rough ride with hips and legs pumping hard and quick. Jim used his fingers to pleasurably torture Blair's nipples and his sticky cock twitched at the increasingly loud 'oh-oh' sounds that Blair was making. When Blair locked his muscles on an upward thrust, Jim clenched around Blair's cock, milking the orgasm with rhythmic squeezes, while Blair let go and screamed. 

"You trying to kill me?" Blair choked out a minute later. 

Jim eased off of Blair's softened cock, and dropped down on top of his lover's body, not speaking, but thinking satisfactorily of a successful hunt. He licked the side of Blair's neck, his fingers playing with the ends of the damp strands of curly hair. 

"We should probably clean up," Blair said. 

Jim just got more comfortable, settling them so that he could cover Blair without crushing him. 

"And get in the bed," Blair added. 

Jim hummed in response, wishing there were a throw over the back of the couch like back at the loft. 

"Jim..." Blair started, then stopped, finally relaxing, giving in to the warm feel of Jim as a blanket and the satisfying exhaustion that comes after great sex. 

"Love you, Chief," Jim mumbled, but Blair had already drifted off too much to answer. It crossed Jim's mind that they were probably going to have to have Stephen's couch reupholstered, but then his thoughts wandered from that, taking him back deep into the heat of a jungle where Blair was waiting. 

When the thunder began, loud rumbles separated by flashes of lightning, it only registered enough to make Jim shift into a more protective position over his lover's body as they both slept on. 

* * *

It might have been the thunder that woke Griff up, the loud vibrating noises and the sharp cracks, but, when he opened his eyes, lightning flashed revealing Nick standing by his bed, right before the room went dark again. He rubbed his face, waiting for his brain to function and words to come. "You okay?" he asked, his voice still husky with sleep. 

"Would it be all right if I joined you?" 

'Oh god yes,' Griff's mind cried, but he managed to simply pull the covers back in invitation. 

Nick got in, lying close enough for Griff to feel the heat of him, though they weren't touching. 

Griff hadn't thought he would be able to sleep at all that night. After the outing on the boat, they had spent the evening together in a much more relaxed atmosphere than the night before, and Griff had tried very hard not to be disappointed when Nick had finally said goodnight and gone off down the hall to his room. He had sat there for a while debating whether or not to make any moves, cursing himself for expecting things that Nick obviously wasn't ready for. 

When the rain started, he had gotten up, going down the other hall to his own bed to sleep alone, a bit sad, but resolving to reestablish the closeness that would at least lead them back to quiet hugs and gentle kisses. He had tossed and turned, restless as the storm that was quickening outside, until thoughts of better times had sent him to sleep with pleasant dreams. 

But he hadn't in his wildest dreams expected Nick to come to him that night. 

And with Nick finally lying next to him, he couldn't resist reaching out to touch, even if it was just his fingers brushing lightly against Nick's hip. Nick tensed, making a little sound, and Griff jerked his hand away, apologies spilling from his lips, only to have Nick take his hand and place it where he could feel warm, smooth skin and the steady thumping of a heartbeat. His own skin heating up and his own heart racing in response. 

"I've missed you." The whisper floated lovingly to Griff's ears, making his heart skip a beat and his dick wake up and take notice. 

"I've missed you, too." Griff's hand clenched reflexively, fingertips rubbing and nails scratching at Nick's chest. 

"I owe you the biggest apology for handling things the way I did at first." 

"No, you--" 

"Yes." 

Nick moved closer, arms going around Griff's large form until the muscles relaxed, except for the one twitching expectantly between them. Desire rose strongly in him, all the more so for having been denied, and he kissed Griff, loving every scratch from Griff's trimmed whiskers, the wet heat of his mouth, the sudden death grip of arms hugging him back, the desperately hopeful sound of Griff whispering 'yes' over and over. 

His only plan had been to sleep. To take it slowly, but still move things along by sleeping together, maybe even in each other's arms. He should have known, he thought, that it wouldn't be enough, that one touch would lead to more and more and more, to kisses, to licks, to clothes being tossed and lost, to naked flesh, to slick, sweaty, sweet, satisfying, sexual pleasure, until even breathing wasn't as imperative as finding release. But when they were finished, gasping and panting in a tangle of limbs, Nick wasn't sorry. Not at all. 

"Are you okay?" Griff asked him. 

"Yes." 

"This wasn't why I wanted you to stay." 

"But wasn't it great?" Nick was practically humming with contentment. 

"Yeah, but..." 

"I don't want you just for your body either, Griffin." 

"Okay." 

"Are we? Okay, I mean?" 

"It's your call, Nicolas, it always has been." 

"We're in this together, Griffin, I need to remember that, and you should too." 

Griff pulled Nick closer, reacquainting himself with the feel, "Then, if we're together, we're fine." 

"Just do me one favor." 

"Anything." 

"Call me Nico again? Please?" 

"I love you...Nico." 

"Te amo, querido," Nick answered. 

They easily drifted off to sleep, unmindful of the messy chaos they'd made of the bed, or the storm that was crashing around outside. 

* * *

When Griff next woke the rain seemed to have stopped, but the day was gray, a dark gray that did nothing to brighten the room. Yet, it was far from dreary, especially when he was waking up in bed with his lover, and that lover was currently touching him in an oh-so-exciting way. 

"Good morning," he said, pleasure evident in his voice. 

"Morning." 

"Anything I can do to help out?" 

"You could spread your legs some more," Nick said earnestly. 

Which Griff did, and was immediately rewarded with a tongue doing incredibly tantalizing things to his ass. 

"What are you doing?" he spat out with some effort, groaning when Nick _stopped_ doing whatever it was he had been doing. 

"Well, if I have to explain it to you..." 

"No...no...but, I mean..." 

"I woke up and you had rolled over away from me, and I was going to just huddle on this side with you, but you looked so...inviting, I couldn't resist." 

"Oh," Griff said, spreading wider, pushing back further. 

And was again rewarded with wonderfully wet attention. He didn't even have time to protest when it suddenly stopped, because almost immediately he was penetrated by what felt like two fingers, moving, stretching him, reaching... 

"Uhnn! Nico!" 

Which only got the action repeated, again and again, until he was reduced to hissing between his teeth, his legs trembling and his fists clenching the sheets unmercifully. 

When that ended, he was moved, slightly repositioned, and he almost came when Nick got in place behind him, the blunt head of Nick's cock pushing gently at his hole. Eager, ready, shameless, he was all of those things, so he pushed back, impaling himself so that Nick wouldn't be tempted to tease. 

But he wasn't allowed to set the pace, his every attempt was thwarted, so he settled down, concentrating on the long, slow fucking that seemed to be Nick's intent. And when Nick shifted a bit, not missing a stroke, but moving just a bit differently, he couldn't even concentrate, reduced again to that hissing as Nick hit his prostate on every thrust. He didn't think he could release his stranglehold on the sheets, not even to touch himself, so he was ridiculously grateful when he felt a hand take him in a strong grip, and he tried to hang in there, to ride it out, to make his ass do something that would take Nick to the edge before him, but as he came, his world exploding in sweet, white light, he let it all go, not knowing that Nick had climaxed as well, until weight collapsed on top of him, and something wet and warm was leaking down his leg. 

"Looks like more rain," Nick said, his breath making cold spots on Griff's sweaty back. "What do you want to do today?" 

"Whatever you want." 

"Well...I thought maybe some more of this kind of thing." 

Griff tried to laugh, but Nick's body was pushing him into the mattress, cutting off the sound. "Can we clean up at least a little?" 

"Okay." 

"And maybe eat something? You know, just for energy?" 

"No problem." 

"And maybe you'll roll off of me somewhere in the next five seconds, so I can get my lungs working properly again?" 

"Watch out, your old age is showing...excessive whining, lack of stamina..." 

Griff twisted, rolled, and had Nick under him before the five seconds was up. "You were saying?" 

Nick's eyes were wide, blinking through the hair that had inevitably fallen in his face, but he was smiling the smile that had the power to make Griff melt. 

"I was saying," Nick said, "that I'm sure we can come up with better things to do besides washing and eating." 

And Griff had to agree. 

* * *

Griff was in a much better mood as he packed his car up to go home than he had been when he dragged himself up to the lake. He smiled as he watched Nick throw the last of his things into the trunk of his own car. 

"Ready?" he called out, moving in Nick's direction. 

"Whenever you are." 

Leaning against the side of Nick's car, Griff said, "You never asked about the truck." 

"What about it?" 

"I didn't take it back, but I'm not giving it to you, either. The winters here are kind of hard on my car," Griff added, motioning to his shiny, black two-seater, "so I've decided that I could use it." 

"Sounds good." 

"But I want you to use it too, whenever you want." 

"Griffin..." 

Holding one hand up to stave off any protests, Griff continued, "Just in case your car breaks down or the weather is really bad." 

"Just in case," Nick repeated, nodding in agreement. 

Moving even closer, Griff spoke in a serious voice. "And for the record, I wasn't going to just let you walk out of my life." 

Smiling at the sincerity shining in Griff's light brown eyes, Nick said, "I sort of knew that, but I needed to make the first move myself." 

"I'm glad you did." 

"Me too," Nick said right before kissing him. "Now, am I following you back or should I just meet you at the condo? In other words, how fast are you going to speed?" 

"Speed? You've never seen me speed." 

Nick got into his car, snorts of laughter escaping him. "Yeah, right. I guess that means I'll meet you there. I need to go by my place for some things anyway." 

"Be careful," Griff said as he got into his own vehicle. 

They backed out of the drive, and Griff pulled ahead to start the trip home, but all the way back to the city, he found himself going slowly enough to keep Nick's old car visible in his rearview mirror. And when Nick tooted his horn, waving as he made the turn towards the University, Griff waved back, speeding off, but only, he told himself, because he was anxious to get home to wait for his lover to join him. 

* * *

"Ellison." 

"Hey, Jim, how's it hangin'?" 

"Long and low, man, as always." 

Griff's deep laughter came through the phone line. "I hear you, old-timer." 

"Is there a point to this call, or did you just want to insult me on general principle?" 

"I'm trying to find out what your plans are for the first weekend of the month. I want to throw a little celebration up at the lake for Nick. You know, for getting his degree. Can you and Blair make it then? We could even turn it into a double salute, unless you've already planned something for Blair." 

"Remember the last time you threw a party...?" 

"Yeah, I know. No surprises this time of any kind. In fact, Nick will probably get in touch with Blair about it today, too. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't conflicting with anything you might have had in mind." 

"No, not really, nothing specific. Blair mentioned something about his mother coming, but with Naomi that's always up in the air." 

"Well, bring her along if she's in town. In any case, I'll see you guys there, right?" 

"I don't think it'll be a problem. So, how are...things?" 

"Good...very good." 

"Glad to hear it." 

"I'm already not looking forward to the fall when I have to go off to promote the new book." 

"What are Nick's plans, now that school is done?" 

"I'm not sure. I know he wants to write, but I think he's been talking to someone at the university about a job. I had an idea for him, but I'm trying to stay out of it. What about Blair?" 

"He's put in for something at Rainier, but he's also applied for a position at another school and, evidently, corporations are looking at anthropologists these days, and there was one that he was interested in. He hasn't heard yet, though." 

"So, his work with the police is over?" 

"I guess in his official 'unofficial' capacity, yeah. I think he'll still let me pick his brain. He's been invaluable to me, it's been unlike working with anyone else." 

"I thought you were damned good in your job before, but from what I've seen you two are great together." 

"Yeah...I know. In more ways then one, Griff." 

"You are _so_ married," Griff laughed. Oh, don't forget that I'm going to stay up at the lake for the rest of the summer." 

"Just you?" 

"Come on, Jim, don't go there." 

"Only asking." 

"I'm trying to stay out of trouble on that score, but I think Nick will stay up for a while." 

"Okay, end of discussion." 

"Nick and I are cool, Jim. Really. When he's ready to move in with me, fine. Until then, we're together and that's...everything." 

"It's good to see you so happy." 

"You too, man." 

"I better get back to work. Behave yourself." 

"Don't I always?" 

"Do you really want me to answer that?" 

"And I thought we were friends." 

"We are, Griff, we are." 

"I know. See ya." 

"Bye." 

* * *

"Banks." 

Simon was greeted with soft notes of laughter. 

"Hello?" 

"I'm sorry, Simon, it's me." Giselle's voice became recognizable on the phone. "Every time you answer the phone like that, I get the urge to say something like 'Dry Cleaners'. 

"Dry cleaners?" 

Giselle laughed again. "Never mind, it's just my weird sense of humor. How are you?" 

"I'm fine, and you?" 

"I'm doing great. I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I was wondering what you were doing this evening." 

"Paperwork, unless I get a better offer," Simon said smoothly. 

"Well, I know we haven't had a chance to get together much lately, so I thought I'd invite you down to the university to see what's been keeping me so busy. I would have asked you before, but there really wasn't much to see until recently. And I'll have you know that I don't let just anybody see my works unfinished." 

"I'd love to see it, and I could take you out to dinner afterwards." 

"Wonderful. I probably won't get a chance to eat before then." 

"Then I'll see you later. Is seven okay?" 

"That's fine. I'll meet you out in front of the building." 

"Okay," Simon said, "I'm looking forward to it." 

"Me too," Giselle said, "Oh, but before I forget, we're also invited to a get-together at Griff's lake house to celebrate Nick and Blair's academic success." 

"When?" 

"The first weekend of next month. Is that good for you?" 

Simon flipped through the calendar on his desk, checking his schedule. "That should be fine, I won't have Darryl that weekend." 

"Great, I'll tell Griff we'll be there." 

"I...um...have a cabin not too far from there. It's not on the lake but further up in the mountains. What do you think about making a weekend of it?" 

"Why, Captain Banks, are you propositioning me?" 

"No...I just..." Simon faltered, suddenly feeling embarrassed 

"Simon...I'm just kidding. But, I'm not a little girl, remember? So, while I appreciate you being a gentleman, you don't have to keep your distance." 

"Well," Simon said, clearing his throat a little, "I hadn't planned on discussing this on the phone, and I don't want you to think that I assume--" 

"I think it's safe for you to assume just a little, and it saves me the trouble of trying to arrange for your kidnapping." 

Simon laughed, the sound booming in his office, and quickly glanced through his blinds to see if he had drawn any attention to himself. "Okay, I get the point. I just want you to know that I don't take this lightly...I don't take _you_ lightly." 

"Point taken. Thanks. I'll see you later." 

"See you at seven." 

"Okay, bye." 

"Goodbye, Giselle." 

Simon hung up the phone thinking that maybe it was time that Darryl and Giselle met, especially since Darryl was planning to be around more over the summer. He didn't introduce every woman he dated to his son, not that there had been many, but Giselle was different. And even though her stay in Cascade was supposed to be temporary, somehow Giselle Paris had become important to him, and he intended for her to remain a part of his life. 

* * *

"Yeah, Ellison here." 

"Whoa, Jim, what's wrong?" 

"Oh, hey, Chief, I'm just stuck in some crazy back-up over on Spring Avenue." 

"Oh, good." 

"Good?" 

"I don't mean 'good' that you're caught in traffic, I just meant that since you aren't exactly going anywhere, I can talk to you for a minute." 

"Can't it wait until I get home, Chief?" 

"Well, it could, but since you might be a while..." 

"All right, all right, out with it. What's going on?" 

"I...uh...I got the job at Rainier. The teaching position." 

"That's great, Chief. Congratulations," Jim said, spirits picking up at the news, and then getting almost giddy when, a minute later, he saw a chance to change lanes and turn off of the traffic-clogged main road. 

"Thanks, but I'm not taking it." 

"What? Why not? Did you get offered something better?" 

"I think so." 

"So what is it?" Jim made a series of turns, his mind fixed on finding the best route home, but a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Wait, are you going away? Did you get accepted for an expedition team, or something?" 

"No, nothing like that. Remember how I told you that there's been a lot of interest in anthropology majors for employment in non-academic sectors?" Blair paused for Jim's grunt of acknowledgment. "Well, I took an idea to Simon last year and he signed off on it, helped me get it through the proper channels...and it looks like you've got a permanent partner." 

Jim was so taken aback by Blair's last statement that he narrowly missed running into the back of the car in front of him that suddenly decided to make an illegal 'U' turn, but didn't even notice the violation. "You're shitting me." 

"Nope. I put together a proposal for a program that is geared towards people that might not ordinarily consider a career with the police department. Not as cops necessarily, but not ruling that out, either. I used myself as an example, our solve rate as incentive, and the Mayor's office went for it, once Simon did a little schmoozing with the Police Chief and got him on the bandwagon. The City Council is allocating funds for a three-year trial, and I'll help set up and maintain the program. Plus, as a bonus, I become an official member of the department, so I'm guaranteed a job, and I get to stay on as your partner." 

"You're telling me that you're going to be a cop?" 

"No, in my case, I won't be a cop, so no gun, no shiny badge, but I get a paycheck, and I have to pass special self-defense training given by the force if I want to continue to go out in the field on cases with you." 

As he finally turned onto Prospect, Jim asked, "And do you? Want to keep hitting the streets with me, I mean." 

"Yeah, I really do. But guess what? The kicker is that I was able to work out something in conjunction with the university, and I'm helping to put together a seminar on non-traditional applications for various academic interests, so in a way, I'll still get to teach." 

"And you had all of this in the works and kept it to yourself? You and Simon?" Jim asked as he walked up the stairs to the loft. 

"I really didn't think anything much would come of it. At the time, I was just trying to get a little paying job out of the department, but I forgot that the wheels of bureaucracy turn so slowly. Simon was sure it would get squashed before it even got out of the Police Chief's office. Now, it's worked out way better than I ever thought. I mean, it's a good thing, right? You aren't mad or anything, are you?" 

Jim slipped inside the apartment, stifling a laugh as Blair jerked around from where he had been lounging on the couch. "No, Chief, I'm not mad at all." 

Blair smiled, sitting up as Jim made his way over. "So, partners?" he asked as he continued to talk into the receiver of the phone. 

"Partners," Jim answered, taking the phone from Blair's hand and dropping it to the floor. 

They didn't even consider the idea of a handshake, instead they sealed the deal with a kiss. 

* * *

Griff was working in his den that had been set up as an office when Nick appeared in the doorway. 

"Busy?" 

Giving his lover a smile, but not taking his eyes off of his monitor, Griff said, "Just finishing up some last minute changes so I can send this off to New York tomorrow." 

"Mind if I hang out in here a while?" 

Griff finally looked up, and pleasure curled in his belly at the sight of Nick casually occupying space...just _there_...as if he belonged. "Of course not." 

"Be right back." 

Griff could hear noise as Nick moved about the condo, but he turned his attention back to his work, unconcerned about his lover's actions. A few minutes later, Nick was back, sprawling sideways in a chair wearing a tank top and shorts, his legs hanging over, bare feet dangling. 

Griff watched Nick tilt his head back and take long swallows from a bottle of beer. In his mind, he stripped the other man naked, pulled the long hair free, and imagined Nick's lips wrapped around his dick instead of the long-necked bottle, sucking on him hard... 

"Stop that." 

"Huh?" He refocused to find Nick watching him, a gleam in his eyes. 

"I know what you were thinking. Finish your work first." 

"I wasn't thinking anything." 

"Uh huh," Nick snorted, as Griff turned guiltily back to his monitor. 

With a bit of effort, Griff made himself concentrate totally on his work, until Nick said, "I've been thinking of a test drive." 

Barely missing a keystroke, Griff responded, "Yeah? Seen something that you like?" 

"Yep." 

"What?" 

"You." 

Griff's fingers paused over the keyboard, and he looked at Nick with a bewildered expression on his face. "Say what?" 

"I thought that I might live up at the lake with you this summer, and if you weren't totally sick of me after that, then when we got back, I'd move in here. That is if the offer is still open." 

"You know it is," Griff said, his voice calm and even though his insides were fluttering with excitement. 

"Thought I'd check to make sure," Nick said with a half grin, almost shy and uncertain. 

"I haven't changed my mind, Nico." 

"Well, how do you feel about the idea of me as a kept man?" 

"Who gets to keep you?" 

"I have a good-looking, overly generous writer in mind." 

"In that case, I have no problem with the idea." 

"So, you think _you're_ the writer in question?" 

Griff picked up a ballpoint pen from his desk and tossed it in Nick's direction. "I had better be." 

"Seriously, I'd like to see if I can actually do something with my writing. And maybe I'd send some of my stuff to your new publishers to see if they'd be interested. If I spend the summer at it, and nothing decent comes out of it, I'll look for a job. A few of my old professors in the Anthropology department have been trying to interest me in a project they have coming up, but it would mean field work rather than class work. But I could still write in my spare time." 

Griff thought rapidly, wanting to provide support without coming across as pushing in a certain direction. "Nico, if you want to concentrate on your writing, do it. We'll be fine. It's not as if we'd struggle to make ends meet. You don't have to put a short time limit on yourself. But if you want to pursue something else, I don't have a problem with that either." 

"Okay." 

"And I was going to suggest that you send Tony some samples of your writing anyway. I happened to mention that there was a new writer he might want to snap up ahead of the competition." 

The ballpoint pen flew back towards Griff. "You're biased." 

"Maybe, but I'm not blind. You're good, Nico. You have a wonderful style, it's precise and powerful, making nice use of characters." 

"Thanks." 

"Just the truth," Griff said with a shrug, turning back to the computer, scrolling down, checking back and forth from his written notes. 

"I love you," he heard Nick say. 

"Thanks." 

"Just the truth," Nick replied. 

Griff stared at the cursor that was blinking on the screen at the end of his document, warmth filling him at the happiness evident in his lover's voice. 

"So maybe," Nick continued, "I'll just go ahead and tell the guys that they need to find a new housemate." 

Griff smiled, an expression that didn't do justice by half to how he felt inside. "Okay," he simply said, hoping that he was learning how to better navigate the terrain...the highs, the lows, and the various places in between, because he was looking forward to a life with Nicolas Alvarez. 

In the meantime, night was falling, Nick was waiting, and there was just one thing left to do. With a sense of great satisfaction, his fingers moved quickly over the keyboard, and he typed in the words, 'The End'. 

THE END 


End file.
